All In The Family
by Ella Roberta Reamy
Summary: After Elwood is released from prison again, he discovers a missing family link to Jake, and the Blues Brothers gain a...sister? Set after BB2000. [OC]
1. Free Again

All In The Family

A **Blues Brothers **Fan Fiction

By Ella Roberta Reamy

© 2002-2005

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**_Disclaimer:_**_ All Blues Brothers characters and situations belong to Dan Aykroyd, John Landis, and Universal Studios, except for any characters NOT involved in either of the Blues Brothers movies. _

**_A/N:_**_ This story is set AFTER Blues Brothers 2000 and is set in 2004. And yes, I also realize that the lady who played the Penguin (Kathleen Freeman) died recently, but the Penguin is essential to the stories just as much, so I put her in on the phone as a tribute. Anyhoo, enjoy and please R/R!_

**_Revision Notes – 2/04:_**_ I've had this beta-read and gone back through it this (chapters 1 through 15) and taken out some sentences, words, phrases, descriptions, etc. that didn't make sense or caused continuity errors, but nothing that detracted from the main plot of the story or took away from the "favorite lines". So, thankfully, none of you who have already been reading this have to read it all over again…unless you just want to, of course :)_

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Elwood shut the door to the Bluesmobile after sliding into the driver's seat; a place he knew well. It was like his second home. Sliding the key into the ignition, feeling the engine fire up and thunder beneath the hood. _Better than sex_, he always thought. _Well, almost_.

Mack had driven the guys over to pick him up, "But that's a one-time deal," Elwood had told him when Mack had been paroled, after only three months. "Once Cab gets it out of the impound yard, you drive it only to your place, and when you come pick me up. That's it."

And Mack, faithful as anything, had done just as Elwood had instructed, with only a few exceptions of driving it to the A&P for groceries.

Meanwhile, Cab had been busy pulling legal strings for Elwood. He got the courts to see Elwood's case from a lighter side, and lots of Elwood's charges had been dropped, such as the one for arson, when he had been accused of burning down Willie's club, but those had been immediately dropped when they found out that the Russians were behind it (though the actual perpetrators were never found and were suspected to be hiding in some rat hole down south.)

And somehow, miracle that it was, Cab and Elwood's lawyer had convinced Mother Mary Stigmata to drop the kidnapping charges, after promising a generous donation to the Our Lady of Annunciation Hospital. In addition to that, he had worked it out, and he was now the proud adopted father of Buster (who had followed suit of Elwood and officially changed his last name to Blues).

Cab and Elwood's lawyer had also argued that the damages to an entire fleet of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and US Federal Government interceptor cars could have easily been avoided if Agent Peters, the FBI agent who had been called in to help apprehend Elwood, had simply slowed and braked at an earlier time, instead of stopping as suddenly as he did, causing the two hundred or so cars to subsequently wreck.

The judge, who hadn't been in the Cook County courts during the Blues Brothers' first reign of terror, as most of the others had, had graciously let Elwood off with a traffic violation for having jumped his car over the construction equipment. Back at the FBI, Agent Peters, much to his chagrin, was put on six-months suspension and fined a vast amount of money in damages to federal and state vehicles.

And so Elwood had smiled as the plea bargain was entered, and had gotten off with a sentence of just six years.

And now he was getting out of prison, and this time, he had not one, but three brothers waiting for him outside the front gate. Cab, who had been demoted to lieutenant commander for "participating in unauthorized undercover work" when he joined the band, wore nothing but the black suit in his spare time and was reviving his high school guitar-playing skills.

Mack was still working in Willie's club, which had been re-built on the same site, but he now sang onstage with Cab instead of working behind the bar.

Willie and the rest of the Blues Brothers Band served as the house band now and never had to resort to finding straight jobs again. They decided to save Elwood, and themselves, the trouble of putting the band back together again.

Buster was attending a nearby high school and worked as a waiter in the club after school and on weekends, occasionally playing harmonica and singing with the band.

And so Mack, Cab, and Buster lived in an apartment above the club, and the band lived in nearby apartments, counting down the days until Elwood got paroled.

Now, as the guards had opened the gates, Elwood smiled as his comrades stepped out of the Bluesmobile, ready for even more escapades.

"So, they set the caged bird free," Cab mused from the backseat "…again."

Elwood eased the Bluesmobile away from the prison and pulled out onto the highway. The warm June breeze blew through the cars four open windows, cooling its passengers in their layered suits.

"Caged bird?" Mack piped up, "You must be a homing pigeon, El."

Buster, also in the backseat, snickered, but tried to hide it.

"Ok, kid, laugh now," Elwood said. "But don't complain when I leave you in the city slammer your first time in."

"I don't plan to ever get to the city slam," Buster replied coolly.

"I certainly hope not. You've been in trouble with juvy enough as it is," Cab replied, reaching over and tapping Buster's hat brim, knocking it over his eyes.

"Hey, just following my example," Buster replied, pushing his hat back up and looking directly at Elwood.

"Hey, I had an excuse," Elwood replied, "I never had nobody adopt me."

"Don't tell me," Buster said, leaning forward and peering through the metal lattice that separated them, "When you were my age, you also had to walk to school twenty miles, in the snow, barefoot, uphill both ways, and without your suit jacket."

Elwood raised his eyebrows and glanced at Buster in the rearview mirror. "Funny," Elwood said.

"Hey, man, I'm just kiddin'," Buster said, then paused. "We missed ya."

Elwood looked back at Buster and smiled.

"Oh, Elwood, you got a letter in our mail yesterday," Cab said, pulling an envelope from his suit jacket pocket. "It's from the Penguin."

"Read it," Elwood replied. Cab tore open the envelope as Elwood breezed through an empty, un-patrolled four-way stop.

_Dear Elwood,_

I trust you are getting out of prison soon, so I have sent this letter to you in care of the address that Cab informs me that you will reside at. I have some unexpected news for you. It will no doubt shock you, as it has come as a complete surprise to even myself (and in my old age, I am surprised by little, especially when it involves you).

"I resent that," Elwood muttered.

Yes, I realize that you resent that.

Cab stopped reading, staring at the letter bug-eyed.

"Creepy," Buster mumbled, shaking his head.

_Nevertheless, I felt that you had to know this as soon as I could get a letter out to you, since I know you are less than fond of delayed information._

_A few weeks ago, I got a call from a woman by the name of Leslie Brooks. After many questions in regard to Jake, she informed me that, before his death, she and Jake were engaged to be married, but tragedy struck months before the wedding was to take place. She went on to inform me that, shortly after Jake's funeral, she discovered that she was pregnant, and nine months later gave birth to a baby girl, who—_

Elwood slammed his foot on the breaks, causing the Bluesmobile to screech to a complete halt. Buster and Cab, who had no seatbelts to wear, were nearly thrown against the metal screen, and Mack braced himself against the dashboard, then they all were thrown harshly back into their seats as the car came to a full stop.

Elwood, still staring ahead at the road, blinked a few times behind his shades. He turned his head slowly and said calmly, "Cab, would you please hand me that letter?"

Cab looked at the paper in his hand, then at the metal screen. After a second, he rolled the letter into the shape of a drinking straw and slid it through one of the wide holes in the screen.

Elwood carefully took the letter from him, unrolled it, and read the rest of it silently. After he was finished, he folded the paper along the pre-made creases, placed it in his jacket pocket, and then eased the car back onto the highway.

The four rode in silence for a good twenty minutes before Elwood approached a gas station and pulled into the parking lot.

"Do any of you have a quarter for the phone?" Elwood asked calmly.

"Ph-phone calls cost thirty-five cents," Buster answered nervously, "L-local ones, that is."

Elwood blinked behind his shades. "Oh," he said. "Well, do any of you have that then?"

Simultaneously, all three began to search their pockets. Mack pulled a quarter from his pants pocket, and Buster plucked a dime off the floorboards.

"Thank you," Elwood said, collecting the change from them. He killed the engine, climbed out of the car, and shut the door firmly.

"What did the rest of the letter say?" Mack asked in a low voice, turning to Cab.

"I have no idea," Cab answered. Buster just stared after Elwood, wide-eyed.

Meanwhile, Elwood approached the phone booth, went in, and shut the glass doors behind him. He flipped through the phone book until he found the number for the hospital, then dialed it.

"Our Lady of the Annunciation Hospital. This is Sister Theresa speaking," the woman on the other end of the line answered pleasantly.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to the P—I mean, Mother Mary Stigmata, please," Elwood requested calmly.

"May I ask who's calling?" the Sister asked.

"Elwood Blues," he answered.

"I'll patch you through. One moment, please," the Sister replied. There was a click, then a long pause, during which Elwood had become slightly impatient.

"Hello?" an elderly woman's voice finally answered.

"Yes, Mother Mary, this is Elwood," he greeted, still managing to maintain his composure.

"Hello, Elwood," said Mother Mary, or, as Elwood referred to her, the Penguin. "I trust you got paroled on time," she inquired amiably.

"Yes, a week early, in fact," Elwood answered. He paused, then "Cab gave me your letter."

Mother Mary hesitated on the other end of the line. "Yes, well…how are you taking the news?"

"Taking it? Oh, just fine," Elwood lied. In reality, he felt he was on the verge of lapsing into a catatonic state from the shock of it.

"I suppose now you want to know where this woman and her daughter live," Mother Mary said.

"Yes. That's what I called about," Elwood replied.

"Well, in my opinion…" Mother Mary began.

_Which I don't want_, Elwood thought.

"Which I know you don't want…" Mother Mary continued, causing Elwood to do a double-take. "But in my opinion, I don't think you should have anything to do with them. You should leave them alone and not interfere with their lives. However, when Ms. Brooks came to me in search of Jake's family history, I told her about you and about Curtis, and she asked me that I send you word about her and her daughter as soon I could."

"Well, how convenient," Elwood said.

"Elwood, knowing orphans like I do, I know that you want to get in contact with as much of any family you may have," Mother Mary sympathized. "So I'll give you her address. Do you have something to write with?"


	2. Girls and The Party

            Elwood sat in the purple vinyl booth in the back of the club, idly peeling the label off his bottle of beer.

            This can't be real, he thought.  Six years ago, he had been desperate for family, and now family was being shoved at him full-force.  Now he had a sister-in-law _and_ a niece.  They were his first female relatives, other than the Penguin and the mother who had abandon him at the newsstand at birth, but they didn't actually count.

            _So what do I do when I meet them?_, he thought.  _Especially the little girl._  He knew he should spend some time with her, but what did girls like to do?  Go shopping?  Elwood hated shopping, except for musical equipment and cars.  All he knew about young girls was the usual associations with clothes, cheesy pop music, teen idols, makeup, dolls, slumber parties, and weird obsessions with owning many pairs of shoes.

            But then again, the letter had said that the girl was born sometime after Jake's death, which made her about fifteen or sixteen years old, depending on what month she was born in.  The same age as Buster.  She wasn't so little by now.  So that ruled out dolls and maybe slumber parties.  _Do girls still have slumber parties at fifteen?_, Elwood wondered.  Obviously having never attended a girls' slumber party in his life, he didn't have any way of knowing.

Meanwhile, the band was busy tuning up their instruments, Cab was helping Steve and Duck hook up the amps and microphones, and Willie, Mack, and Buster were busy stocking the bar and cleaning the glasses.  The girls were showing up for work randomly and were backstage getting into their makeup and skimpy costumes.  Buster was busy unpacking bottles of liquor and shelving them behind the bar.

            "Shit," Buster announced.  "Willie, we're five bottles short of JD."

            Willie walked over to Buster.  "You sure?"

            "Yeah.  It even says so on the packing list," Buster answered, holding out the paper to him.  Willie snatched it and scanned over it.

            "Those assholes," Willie muttered, "I swear, if they keep gypping me like that, I'm going to have to switch to another company.  We're short on other things too."  He slapped the piece of paper back down on the bar top.  "Elwood!" Willie called across the room.

            Elwood jumped slightly, his train of thought having been temporarily derailed.  He got up and made his way over to the bar.

            "Elwood, can you run down to the liquor store?  We're short on a few things," Willie asked.

            "Putting me to work, already?" Elwood asked jokingly, "And on my first day out.  I see how much I'm appreciated around here."

            "Aw, man, lay off," Willie replied.  "I'd go myself but my car's in the shop."

            "Sure, I'll go," Elwood agreed.

            "Take Buster with you.  He's got the list.  Oh, and take the credit card," Willie added, producing a small square of plastic from his back pocket and tossing it to Elwood.  "But I want it back."

"Of course," Elwood said incredulously, arching his eyebrows.  Willie shook his head and attended to the empty boxes.  Buster walked around the side of the bar and exited the club just behind Elwood.

            Willie watched after them, waiting until the door had closed all the way.  He turned to Mack.

            "They're gone," Willie said.  "Did you pick up the banner from Kinko's?"

            "Yep," Mack replied.  "Got it yesterday."

            "Good.  Let's start setting up," Willie replied.

*          *          *

            Elwood and Buster exited the liquor store, precariously balancing the various sacks of bottled alcoholic consumables.  After setting them in the floorboards of the backseat, Elwood and Buster headed back to Willie's.

            Buster noticed after awhile that Elwood was taking the long way, looking deep in thought as he sometimes did when he drove.

            "Spill, man," Buster finally said.

            "Huh?" Elwood said, not having heard him clearly.

            "I said spill, man.  What are you thinking about?  That letter?" Buster asked.

            "Yeah," Elwood replied.  He paused, then looked at Buster.  "Lemme ask you somethin', kid.  Did you ever have any female relatives that you remember?"

            "First off, I'm sixteen, so can you stop calling me 'kid' already?" Buster said.

            "Buster," Elwood began, "When you're as old as me, you'll think anybody under thirty is a kid." Buster sighed, seeing that it was pointless to argue.

            Elwood had noticed that Buster did look older.  He was taller, slightly less baby-faced, his voice was deeper, and his hair had grown out and was starting to fall down in front of his eyes.     

"But back to what I asked you," Elwood continued.  "Do you have any experience with girls?  I mean, as relatives, like a cousin or an aunt or something.  Anybody you met before you were put in an orphanage?"

            Buster thought for a moment.  "Well, nobody before I was orphaned, but I did have a foster sister once."

            "What was she like?" Elwood asked.

            "Well, she was only seven," Buster explained.  "She was always making me play tea-party or dolls or. . ." He shuddered.  ". . .dress-up."

            "You poor guy," Elwood said incredulously.  "Well, that doesn't help me much.  See, I never really had any girl relatives.  Well, except for the Penguin, but she doesn't really count."

            "Exactly.  She's a nun.  They're different," Buster agreed.

            "Right.  And the few foster families I went to were always couples who didn't or couldn't have kids," Elwood continued.  "And now I've got a problem because now I have a niece AND a sister-in-law all at once.  And the girl; I just can't treat her like one of the guys."

            "Actually, you might could get away with it," Buster said ponderingly.  

Elwood furrowed his brow. "How do you mean?"

"Well, judging from the girls at school, there's lots of what you probably used to call tomboys.  Athletic girls and stuff.  Then there's the middle girls, who like girl stuff, but you never see them wear a dress except for school uniforms and special stuff, and they hang out with as many guys as they do girls," Buster explained to Elwood, who listened intently.  

"And then there's the girly-girls who wear pink and use hairspray and makeup and all that stupid junk," Buster continued.  "So, unless she's a girly-girl, you might not have that hard of a time."

"Hmm.  Good advice.  Thanks, Buster," Elwood said.

"No sweat," Buster replied.  He arched one of his eyebrows and looked at Elwood.  "Speaking of chicks, how come you never had a girlfriend?"

            "Because they don't make co-ed prisons," Elwood replied simply.

            "But Jake was in prison too, and he found time to leave one girl and almost marry another," Buster pointed out.

            "Well, why don't you have a girlfriend yet?" Elwood countered matter-of-factly.  

Buster was slightly taken aback.  "You're right, let's drop it," Buster replied simply.  

Elwood chuckled, guiding the Bluesmobile along the narrow streets with ease.  He felt a little more hopeful now, but he still didn't have a plan for how he would break the ice with a niece he had only known about for one day.

*          *          *

            Murph pushed the door open to make an opening wide enough peek through.  He saw Elwood and Buster unloading the sacks of liquor out of the backseat of the Bluesmobile.  He eased the door shut.

            "They're here," Murph announced in a low voice.  Cab scrambled down from his perch on a chair after tying the last knot of the banner strings and joined the rest of the band and the girls as they gathered around the bar.  Matara, who hadn't worked there in about two years, had even paid a visit in Elwood's honor.

            Buster pushed open the door and leaned against it, holding the door open to let Elwood in ahead of him.

            "ELWOOD!" everyone cheered in unison as Elwood walked in, arms full of paper sacks.

            Elwood's eyes went wide behind his shades.  Hung above the stage proscenium was a large vinyl banner that read "Welcome Back, Elwood!" and had a picture in the corner of a bird carrying a large key ring in its mouth.  All the girls were wearing glittery party hats that were left over from New Year's Eve and blew on noisemakers, giggling and clapping.

            "Wow," Elwood murmured.  He was touched by the gesture.  Nobody had ever had a party for him in his whole life.  He felt the tears begin to form behind his eyes, but he swallowed hard to banish them.  Buster stood in the doorway, a big smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, wow," Elwood repeated, setting the bags down on a nearby table.  "I dunno what to say."

"Well, turn around and say thanks to Buster," Matara piped up from where she sat the end of the catwalk.  "It was all his idea."

Elwood turned to Buster.  "Really?  You did all this?"

Buster's face colored a bit, "Well, I came up with it.  Mack got the banner done and Cab and Willie came up with the distraction."

"So you really weren't short any booze?" Elwood asked.

"Yeah, we were," Willie replied.  "But we placed the order like that.  Well, everybody, we open in about thirty minutes, so lets get busy."  

Cab approached Elwood and handed him his harmonica and a microphone.  "Elwood, you get to do the honors of singing the first number tonight," he said.

Elwood looked down at the microphone and his Hohner Special 20.  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the lights on the stage was pointed in the wrong direction and was shining directly in his eyes.  He squinted into the light.

"Hey, Willie, one of your lights is—" he began.  He caught a glimpse of the light reflecting off the silver switch of the microphone and gazed down at it.  Without premeditation, he knew exactly what he would do about his niece.

"The band. . ." he murmured under his breath.  That was it!  He would go see his new sister-in-law and her daughter, and he would let the girl join the band.  That is, if she had inherited even half of Jake's vocal talent, and if her mother gave permission.

"That's it. . .the band, that's it," he murmured.

"Elwood, you okay, man?" Cab asked.  

Elwood shook his head to clear his daze.  "Yeah, I'm alright."

"What were you saying about the lights?" Willie asked.

"I was just saying that it looked like one of them was—" Elwood began, pointing at the stage.  But the abnormal light wasn't there anymore.  The stage was lit in the usual way, and none of them were pointed the wrong way, as it had been the whole time.

"Uh, nevermind.  Just me, I guess," Elwood concluded, writing it off as an imagined, albeit inspiring, illusion.

*          *          *


	3. Reunions and Responsibilities

            Elwood looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and checked the address again,-- 1133 Abel Street -- then looked back up at the house numbers as he slowed the car a bit.

            "Eleven twenty-nine, eleven thirty-one," Elwood counted.  "Eleven thirty-three; this is it."  He parked the car alongside the edge of the curb, killed the engine, and got out of the car.  Mack, Cab, and Buster followed suit, glancing around at the neighborhood.

            "Oh my god," Cab muttered.  "It's so—" He struggled for the right word.

            "_Brady Bunch_," Buster finished for him.  Elwood nodded slowly in agreement.  The houses were identical split-levels with aluminum siding and shingled roofs, marked by typically quaint accessories such as white mailboxes, gas lamps, and two-car garages.

            "The American dream," Mack muttered.

            _To think Jake was gonna live here_, Elwood thought.  The idea gave Elwood chills, causing him to have second thoughts about whether or not he wanted to meet this new family of his.

            "Let's go," Elwood said, deciding to follow the original plan.  The four of them made their way up the sidewalk and stopped at the front door.  Elwood rang the doorbell, which made a cheery "ding-dong" within the house.

            "Just a minute!" they heard a woman call from inside the house.  After a moment, they heard approaching footsteps, then the wooden inside door opened.  The woman who answered it was a slender, petite redhead wearing somewhat tight, straight-legged jeans and a short-sleeved top striped in various shades of brown.

            "Hello," she greeted cheerfully, then stopped short as her gaze fell upon Elwood.  Her eyes went wide and she gasped.

            "Oh my goodness," she breathed in disbelief, examining Elwood from head to foot through the screen door.  "You don't even have to say anything.  I know who you are.  You're Elwood," the woman said softly, in awe. "You're Jake's Elwood."  She blinked and put her hand to her chest, breathing somewhat unevenly.

            "Yes, ma'am," Elwood replied, wondering how this woman would react.

            In reply to his silent query, the woman pushed open the screen door, hurried forward, and pulled Elwood toward her in a tight embrace.  Elwood, taken quite by surprise, timidly hugged the woman back, rather unsure of himself at this particular moment.

            "Oh my gosh," the woman said, pulling away from him.  "Where are my manners?  Come on in."  She pulled the screen door back open and ushered the four inside.

            "You can sit down anywhere you like," the woman offered as she led them down the short hallway, around the corner, and into the living room.  "I don't know if Mother Mary told you my name."

            "Ms. Leslie Brooks, if I remember right," Elwood replied, sitting down at the end of the long couch.  Mack, then Cab sat down beside him.  Buster, finding no room next to the other three, sat down in a rather stiff-looking armchair with claw feet, possibly the most fancy furnishing in the room.  The rest of the furniture and décor gave the room a very casual, lived-in look.  There was the blue couch, the claw-foot armchair, and large red-brown leather recliner, in which Leslie sat, along with a small work desk and a television set.  On the wall hung various framed artwork, but, to Elwood's disappointment, no framed photos of any sort.

            "Right," Leslie replied.  "Well, this is certainly unexpected.  Sorry I took so long getting to the door.  I had to get my cookies out of the oven before they burned."

            "They smell good," Mack piped up.  "Sugar cookies, right?"  Cab gave Mack an inauspicious sideways glance, but said nothing.

            "Oh, yes.  They're for the bake sale over at the Methodist church tonight," Leslie replied.  She looked at the four.  "Well, let's see.  I don't know everyone here.  Well, I knew you, Elwood, the minute I saw you from the pictures that Mother Mary showed me.  And the one Jake carried with him."

            Elwood nodded, not knowing how to respond.  He didn't know that Jake carried a picture of him, and he suddenly felt bad because he didn't have one of Jake on him at the moment.  

            "Oh, you must be Curtis' son," Leslie said as her eyes fell on Cab.  "You look just like him, too, from the pictures I saw of him," Leslie said.  "What was your name again?"

            "Cabel Chamberlain," Cab replied, "But most people call me Cab."

            "Cab, yes, that's right," Leslie replied.  She looked at Mack, then at Buster.  "I'm sorry, Mother Mary mentioned the two of you, but she never told me your names."

            "This is Mighty Mack McTeer, the other lead singer in the band, along with Cab," Elwood introduced.

            "Hi, ma'am," Mack greeted, touching the brim of his hat.

            "And this is. . .um. . .," Elwood faltered on Buster, having always had trouble as to how to refer to him in introductions.

            "I'm Buster. Buster Blues," Buster interjected.

            "Well, nice to meet you both," Leslie said.  "How old are you, Buster?"

            "Sixteen," Buster replied.

            Leslie nodded.  "I thought so.  You're the same age as Navi."

            Elwood blinked behind his shades.  "Excuse me?"

            "Navi," Leslie replied, smiling timidly.  "That's my daughter."

            "Oh. Like the color or like the military branch?" Elwood asked curiously.  _Navi?,_ Elwood thought.  _What a strange thing to name your kid_.

            "The color," Leslie replied.  "And speaking of Navi, she should be home here any minute now," she added, glancing down at her wristwatch.

            "You mean her name is actually Navi Blues?" Buster blurted out incredulously, having suddenly realized the ironic association.

            "Buster!" Cab exclaimed.

            "Sorry," Buster apologized sheepishly, staring at the floor.

            "Actually," Leslie said.  "She goes by the last name Brooks."

            "Well, it was your decision," Elwood said, not too surprised that the woman hadn't given the girl his and Jake's last name.

            "Well, you see, that was something I had planned to tell you," Leslie began.  "You see, Navi doesn't know anything about Jake."

            Elwood's heart skipped a beat.  "I-I'm sorry?" he stuttered.

            "Well, she doesn't know anything about Jake because. . .well, for lots of reasons. One being that it was just too hard for me to talk about him with her, with the way he died, and how quick it happened.  I tried a few times, I did, but I just couldn't.  She stopped asking after awhile.  I think she knew how it was."

            "Okay, I can see that," Elwood said slowly.  He stopped, swearing he had heard that somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it exactly.  He shook his head and turned his attentions back to Leslie.

            "Well, that's a bit of a problem," Elwood began again.  "Because, you see, I came here to ask you if would let her join the band. . .I assume Jake told you about the band."  

Leslie nodded.  "Oh yes.  Jake was always trying to get the band decent gigs.  That's where I met him, in fact.  He always said it wasn't the same without you."

"Oh, well," Elwood said, blushing slightly.  "I don't know about that.  I'd say it isn't the same without Jake."

"It surprised me that I had never heard about your exploits a few years back," Leslie continued.  "Mother Mary showed me the clippings in all the papers, but I've never been one to pay attention to the news."

"Well, I was going to say that we're going on a tour this summer, and a new addition to the band would be great, since she's family and all.  But it might be awkward, since she doesn't know about Jake and everything." Elwood explained.

            "What tour?" Mack whispered, leaning towards Cab.  Cab shrugged.  The two of them looked at Buster, who also shrugged.

            Leslie stood up and paced for a moment.  "I see how that could pose a—" She stopped, an idea coming to her mind.  "Hey, what about this?   What if she went ahead and joined the band and. . .and you told her about Jake?"

            "What?  Now, wait a minute," Elwood protested, "I don't really think it's my place to do that."

            "I know," Leslie conceded, "But I think she should find out about him from someone who knew him better. . .and someone who didn't burst into tears at the attempt.  Jake and I were only together for a few months before he died, so I really don't know that much about him.  He told me about you and about the orphanage and the band, and that was about it."

            "But—" Elwood started.

            Just then, the five of them heard the front door to the house open and a shuffling of footsteps and various belongings was heard.

            "BYE MAGGIE!  THANKS FOR THE RIDE!" a young girl called loudly toward the street.  "I'LL CALL YOU IN TWO WEEKS WHEN YOU GET BACK!"  The door was shut harshly, and more footsteps were heard, along with the tinny sound of muffled music and the dull 'THUMP' of a backpack being dropped to the floor.

            "That would be Navi," Leslie said.  "It was their last day of school today."

            Elwood nodded uneasily.

They all heard the door to the fridge being opened, then rummaged around in, then shut roughly.

            "Navi!" Leslie called down the hall.  "We have company!"

            "Okay, Mom," Navi called back.  They heard her footsteps, in an unusual rhythm, coming down the hall.

            "_Here we are now/entertain us. . ._" they heard her singing softly to tune of the now somewhat louder stifled music as she walked down the hall.  The music, Elwood assumed, was some sort of grunge rock.

            Just then, the aforesaid Navi rounded the corner of the room, her CD player in one hand, headphones draped around her neck, her eyes closed as she shuffle-danced into the room, humming to the song.  She stopped in the doorway and took a bite off the chocolate Twinkie that she held in her other hand.

            Upon opening her eyes, she stopped, mid-bite, and stared in wide-eyed surprise at the four black-suited visitors whom she didn't recognize.  

"Oh, hi," she said through her mouthful of mixed cake and crème filling.  She quickly regained her composure, bit off the rest of the manufactured pastry, chewed it briefly, then swallowed it.

            "Navi, turn that racket off," Leslie said reproachfully.

            Navi reached down and pushed the 'Stop' button on her CD player, silencing the music.

            "Sorry," Navi said the visitors, then to her mother, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

            "Navi, what are you talking about?" Leslie asked perplexedly.

            "Aren't they the FBI or something?" Navi answered.  "Look, Mom, I was joking when I said I saw a UFO.  It was Maggie's idea, I swear."

            Leslie chuckled.  "Honey, I know that," she replied, "And they're not the men in black.  This is Elwood Blues, a friend of mine…from high school."

            Elwood gave Leslie an Are-you-crazy look. Leslie gave a miniscule shrug as an apology for her fib.  He turned to look at Navi and smiled nervously.

            "Oh, okay," Navi said, breathing a sigh of relief.

            "Elwood, this is my daughter, Navi," Leslie introduced.  Her eyes, facing away from the girl, pleaded with Elwood to play along.

            "Hi," Navi said, moving in front of where Elwood was seated and offering her hand to be shook.  "That's Navi spelled with an 'I', not a 'Y'," she introduced as if she had long ago memorized this adage.

Elwood took her hand and shook it.  Her grip was strong, he noticed, and her hands were square-palmed with short fingers, just like Jake's.  Elwood suddenly imagined that he could see the shadowy outline of letters printed across her knuckles that spelled out her unusual name, and a crudely illuminated cross drawn above the bridge of her thumb.   But before he could look closer, the ghostly letters disappeared, and he released her hand.  

"Nice to meet you," Elwood replied.  

Navi moved towards the claw-footed armchair, but stopped short as she noticed that Buster was sitting in it.  She gave Buster a second's worth of a semi-exasperated look, but then smiled semi-sweetly at him and went to retrieve a chair from the nearby desk.

Elwood took the opportunity to examine the rest of Navi's appearance, which eerily, and rightly, resembled that of his dead brother.  She was somewhat shorter than Jake had been, by a few inches, and had a stocky, yet distinctly feminine build.  However, she did not appear at all overweight, as Jake had certainly been most of his life.   Her identical dark raven hair hung in thick, unruly curls over her shoulders and down her back.  Her round face was without makeup, except the light layer of lip-gloss that coated her somewhat thin lips.  She even had Jake's expressive eyes, except that her eyebrows weren't quite as thick, and they, as well as her wayward mane of hair, appeared as if they required a bit of maintenance to keep under control.

_Man, she looks just like him_, Elwood thought.  _If Jake had had a twin sister, this is what she would look like._

Elwood also took note that she wore a plaid school uniform skirt, white shirt, and cardigan sweater, and scuffed oxford shoes over knee-high socks.  Ironically, the entire ensemble had a navy blue color scheme.

_Ok, she's wearing a school uniform_, Elwood thought.  _School uniforms require skirts, so I don't know if she'll be girly or not._

Navi dragged the extra chair over between her mother and Buster's chairs, turned it around and, as if answering his silent query, sat with her legs astride the chair back, her knee-length skirt miraculously falling in place to cover anything she might accidentally reveal.

"Navi, don't sit like that!" Leslie said sharply.

"Mom, I'm covered, relax," Navi replied nonchalantly.  "Hey, guess what, Maggie's going to Cozumel for two weeks.  Who's the rest of these guys?"  She took another bite of her Twinkie.

Elwood had too keep from chuckling at Navi's unabashed straightforwardness, another trait she obviously had inherited from Jake, and the way it greatly contrasted the tempered politeness of Leslie.

Leslie sighed, slightly exasperated, then resumed the conversation.  "This is Mack, Cab, and Buster," she introduced, pointing to each in turn.  "Buster's your age, Navi."

Navi turned her head and looked at Buster, gave a short, indifferent wave with her Twinkie hand, nodded at the other two, and then proceeded to finish off the small cake.

"Navi, you said you were interested in having a job this summer, right?"  Leslie asked.

"Yeah?" Navi replied.

"Well, Elwood is looking for a someone to help out in his band for their summer tour," Leslie explained.

"Cool," Navi replied, enthusiasm entering her demeanor for the first time as her eyes perked up.  She looked at Elwood, eyes beginning to shine.  "What kind of band?"

"Well, we play different kinds of music," Elwood replied.  "But mostly, we're a blues band."

"Blues?  Well, I don't know a whole lot about blues and stuff like that, but I'll take it, I guess." Navi replied.  "Am I gonna be a roadie, or, like, you want me to sing or do coffee runs or stand on my head or what?"

Elwood thought for a moment.  He quickly figured things in his mind.   He could call Maury today before six, and have the band packed after the club run tonight and on the road in the morning.  It would be hard-pressed, but it could be done.  

"Well, we need help packing equipment and hooking things up," Elwood explained.

"A roadie job," Navi responded.

"Well, in a way, yes," Elwood replied, "But everyone in the band pitches in, including myself."

Buster snickered, then fell silent as everyone looked at him.  

"But I'm also curious.  Can you sing any. . .at all?" Elwood asked, deciding to deal with Buster later.

"Sure, I guess," Navi replied.

"Well, honey, of course you can.  She's won the school talent show two years in a row," Leslie added.

"Oh yeah," Navi mused.  "Anyway, whatever you want me to do, I'll do it.  When can I start?"

"Well, I guess tomorrow morning, if you're not too busy," he replied.

"Great," Navi replied.  "Can I go, Mom?"

"Of course you can, honey," Leslie replied cheerfully.  "You should go upstairs and start packing."

"Um, there is one small thing you need," Elwood interjected.

"An outfit like yours?" Navi asked sarcastically.

Elwood blinked a few times.  "Actually, yes," he replied.  It was Navi's turn to be stumped.

"Of course, you can wear pants or a skirt or whatever," Elwood added.  "It's up to you.  We've never really modified it for a girl before."

"Oh," Navi replied simply, processing the proposal through her brain.  "The hat and everything?"

"Yes," Elwood replied.

"I'm sure we can come up with it," Leslie said, since Navi wasn't saying anything further.  "You did say this morning that you wanted to go to the mall after school today.  And come to think of it, I'm sure I have a hat like that in the attic with your grandpa's things."  Leslie looked at Navi, who was preoccupied with staring at the carpet, but not really seeing it, then she looked at Elwood and winked knowingly.

_She's got Jake's clothes?_ Elwood thought.  He wanted to ask if, for a moment, he could go up and see them.   But he decided against it; Leslie and everyone else might think he was crazy.

"Well, we really have to get going," Elwood said, picking his briefcase up off where he had set it on the floor and getting to his feet.  Mack, Cab, and Buster followed suit.  "I have to call our booking agent and confirm dates and times and fees and things like that."

"Yes, of course," Leslie said, "I'll see you to the door.  Navi, dear, you'd better go upstairs and get changed to go shopping."

"Yeah, okay, Mom," Navi replied, still somewhat distracted in thought, as she got up from her chair and proceeded upstairs as Leslie ushered her four visitors out the front door.

"We'll go wait in the car, El," Cab declared suddenly.  Mack and Buster nodded, then trudged down the sidewalk.

"Well, I say you have it made if you can get her to cooperate in a fashion change," Leslie remarked optimistically, shutting the door behind her somewhat.  "She's as stubborn as her father; that much is for sure."

"I'll come pick her up around eight-thirty tomorrow," Elwood said.

"That's fine," Leslie said.  "And don't worry, she usually packs light."

"Thank you, ma'am," Elwood said.  "For all this."

"No, Elwood," Leslie said, "Thank you.   Listen, if you don't want to tell Navi about Jake, I'll understand.  I didn't mean to shove something like that at you."

"No, it's ok.  Really," Elwood assured her.  "I thought of it, and I'll be glad to do it."

Leslie smiled, then hugged Elwood again.  "Thank you," she whispered again.

"No problem," Elwood replied with a grin, hugging her back.

Mack had already turned on the car ignition, since Elwood always left they keys in the ashtray, and the car was purring smoothly as Elwood got in.

"Elwood," Mack said pleasantly, "When were you planning on telling us about this tour?"

"When I got it set up," Elwood replied.  "I figure if I get Maury in his office before six, we can set it up and have the band on the road in the morning.  Tonight's set at the club could be, like, a warm-up rehearsal."  Elwood set the gearshift to "D" and pulled away from the curb and back onto the street.

"But Elwood," Cab said, "Part of the reason we kept the band together at the club is so that we wouldn't have to do tours.  Stuff like last time might happen again."

Elwood chuckled and waved it off.  "Cab," he said, "stuff like last time will always happen in this band."

*          *          *

Navi parted the dark blue starlight-print curtains of her upstairs bedroom window and watched the old black-and-white pull away from her house.  She had changed out of her school uniform and was wearing a black baby doll t-shirt, faded carpenter jeans, and a pair of red rubber flip-flop sandals.  Her hair had been brushed and pulled back.

"Friend from high school?" she murmured perplexedly, staring after the car.

"Navi, hurry up!" her mom called from downstairs.  "We should get to the mall before it gets too crowded."

Navi turned from the window.  "I'm coming, Mom!"  She turned and looked back out the window, but the car had gone out of sight.  She had certainly liked her visitors, but they had aroused a strange sense of deja vou in the back of her mind.  And the main one, Elwood, had kept looking at her like he was experiencing the same thing.  She shrugged, letting the curtains fall back into place, then hurried out her bedroom door, picking up her denim purse off the dresser as she went.

*          *          *


	4. Phoning Maury

            "Look, Maury, I know you can get us gigs somewhere," Elwood pleaded into the phone.  "We'll play anywhere; even if it's in Alaska!"

            Maury Sline sighed on the other end of the line.  "But I can't put together a full tour for you overnight," he protested.

            "Then do what you've done before," Elwood said.  "Just book us one or two to start with, then work on some more while we're on the road."

            "But El, every place is pretty much booked up," Maury explained. "Everybody does their summer booking in May."

            "Look, just get us what you can," Elwood begged, "Cancellations or whatever.  Anything."

            Maury sighed again.  "Alright, alright.  Lemme check the openings."  There was a pause and Elwood could hear the shuffling of papers.

            "There's not a lot of blues clubs open anymore," Maury went on.  "Even here in Chicago.  The genre seems to be in a popularity slump again.  It's the 80s all over again.  Look at this; I got openings for country, alt rock, metal, singer-songwriter night, country, country, metal, even for a techno DJ.  I don't see—wait, here's one.  The Blue Star Pub, tomorrow night at nine p.m."

            "Great, we'll take it," Elwood replied enthusiastically.

            "It's in Sandusky, Ohio," Maury added.

            "No problem," Elwood replied.  "Driving there won't take me two hours."

            "Elwood, it's a four-hour drive," Maury said.

            "Oh, you're right," Elwood said.  "Two and a half, then."

            "Suit yourself, the gig's yours," Maury said.  "I'll call them now."

            "Thanks," Elwood said.

            "Oh, and Elwood?"

            "Yeah?"

            "As your booking agent, well, the stuff you guys do, your music and your criminal record, well, they've been surprisingly good publicity for me all these years," Maury said.  "But as your friend, well, just please stay out of trouble this time."

*          *          *


	5. Wardrobe and Packing

Navi stared down at the dark outfit she had laid out over her bedspread. Her mother had splurged and bought her one of the more expensive women's black suits in Macy's.

Navi had tried it on in the dressing room in the department store, and she loved the way it looked on her. The shirt buttons didn't pull, the coat was well tailored, the tie was a clip-on, and the pants fit like a dream. She had felt like a member of the secret service or the FBI in that suit; important, mysterious, but most of all, feared. She knew instinctively that she would be looked upon with awe, just as she had looked at Elwood and his companions in her living room.

Navi lifted the lid off the cardboard shoebox, revealing her new pair of shoes. They were open-toed dress sandals made of black leather, decorated with a large blue heart made with small rhinestones on the toe band of each shoe. She took one shoe out and turned it in her hand, smiling at the way the stones constantly glittered in the light.

She set the shoe back in its box, and then began digging in another plastic sack until she pulled out a pair of shades. They were black- framed, squared-off Ray-Ban Wayfarers; the expensive kind.

            _Mom must be proud of my job_, Navi thought, _because she never lets me spend so much money on one outfit . . .not that I normally would, but still._

Navi laid the shades on top of the shoes in their box, then picked up the slightly worn, narrow-brimmed black fedora that her mother had brought down from the attic. She had said that it belonged to Navi's Grandpa Lou, Leslie's father. Navi narrowed her eyes at the hat. She couldn't remember Grandpa Lou ever wearing a hat, but on the other hand, she couldn't remember very much about him anyway, since he died when she was only four.

            Navi turned to her closet and opened it, revealing the full-length mirror that was attached to the door. She picked up the shades again, slid them over her eyes, and then eased the hat onto her head. It was the only part of the outfit she hadn't seen on herself.

            She turned to the mirror, then raised a lone eyebrow at the sight that met her.

Not bad, she thought, though I wouldn't wear it with my normal clothes. It contrasted oddly with her jeans and t-shirt, but that didn't matter. The shades were almost a little too big for her face, but they looked all right. The hat fit perfectly, however, and she was already becoming quite attached to it.

            She removed the hat and shades and laid them both on top of the shoebox, shoving it to one side of her bed. She then hung her suit on her closet door, then pulled a fair sized blue suitcase off the top shelf of her closet and plopped it on the bed and opened it.

"Ok, I don't need many clothes," she murmured to herself. "I'll probably be wearing that suit all the time."

She snapped on her radio as she made her way back and forth between her dresser, her closet, and her suitcase. She finally had carefully packed two pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, and all of her good bras and underwear, her favorite summer pajamas, five of her favorite t-shirts, three tank tops, her dark turquoise bathing suit and sheer white cover-up, a worn pair of blue canvas tennis shoes, and a few pairs of socks.

            "Ok, that's good for clothes," Navi murmured, "What else? Oh, entertainment."

            Navi packed her CD player, full CD holder, batteries, a spiral notebook, gel pens, and two thick paperback books. "Summer Sisters" by Judy Blume and "Interview with The Vampire" by Anne Rice.

            That should cover it, she thought. Then, she remembered something that she never left home without.

            She went back to her dresser, bent to the lowest dresser drawer. She pawed past the extra sheets and pillow cases, past the signed t-shirts from long- ago kiddy summer camps, and past the horrid tangerine satin bridesmaid dress from her cousin Tiffany's wedding last spring. At last she found what she was looking for.

She pulled a large LP record from the depths of the drawer, brushing the lint off the cardboard cover. It was an obscure album, "Straight Up" by Downchild Blues Band, that had belonged to her father. That was the only link she had to him. Navi had discovered it stashed in her mother's collection of old records up in the attic. She knew immediately that it was her father's because someone, possibly him, had written "Jake B" in the top left hand corner along the white border around the cover's edge.

            Those were the only clues she was able to ascertain about her father. His name was Jake, his last name started with a "B", though it wasn't Brooks like hers and her mother's, since that was her grandparents' last name too.

Navi had learned early on not to ask questions about her father. Her mother would start crying or send her off to run a small errand for her, and Grandma Nina would get bitter, deny that she knew anything, and then slam pots and pans around in the kitchen for an hour or so. So around age seven, Navi had never sought this knowledge again, and only was able to find out, over the years, that his name was Jake B. and that he had grown up in an orphanage. This fact she had found out when she had asked her mother why she didn't have two sets of grandparents like other kids. All her mother had said was "Because your dad was an orphan. Can you get me the oregano out of the cabinet, sweetie?"

Navi lightly ran her fingers of the name inscription. "Jake," she murmured, testing the name on her lips as she had many times, then "Dad?"

Navi quickly shook her head to clear her mind, then carefully slipped the record under the contents of her suitcase and snapped it shut.

* * *


	6. If He Steals A Match

            Agent Peters stared fixedly at the screen of his FBI-issued computer.  "I can't wait to get my hands on the evil genius behind this one," he murmured to himself, a scowl creeping across his face.

            "Spider solitaire got you stumped again there, P.?" asked Agent Brinkley, Peters' new partner, as he twirled a ruler on the pencil that was stuck through a hole in the ruler.

            "I hate this game," Peters replied.

            "One suit or two?"

            "One."

            "Man, you must suck at that game," Brinkley snickered.

            "Shut up Brinkley," Peters muttered, moving a nine-to-three card stack onto a ten card.  "Brinkley, check up on my old friend, will you?  I think he's up for parole next week."

            "You still obsessed with that Chicago freak?" Brinkley asked.

            "I am not obsessed," Peters insisted.  "All I'm doing is my job."

            "He's in the can, what else are you gonna do?"  Brinkley asked.  "And I don't recall us being assigned to any kind of surveillance on him."

            "We weren't," Peters replied.  "This is a little independent assignment I've decided to take on.  Pull up his record, I'll show you something."

            "Alright, just a minute," Brinkley muttered.  He set down his crudely constructed propeller and typed and clicked on his computer.

            "Blues, Elwood Jake…" Brinkley read off, "Born Elwood Delaney, July 1st, 1952."

            "Yeah, but the criminal stuff," Peters interjected, closing out his solitaire game.

            "First time in juvy when he was sixteen.  Been in and out of prison since he was 18.  Over three hundred traffic violations on record and other offenses.  Got paroled just yesterday; a week early."

            "But look," Peters added, getting up and moving around the desk to Brinkley's side.  "The longest he's been incarcerated is that 18-year stretch from '80 to '98.  That's it!  As long as he keeps getting caught in the Chicago area, and as long as he has that commander as his ally in the state police, he's going to keep causing trouble."

            "So what's your point?" Brinkley asked.

            "We're going to catch him and put him away for good," Peters replied.

            "What does it matter to us?" Brinkley asked.  "It's not a federal matter.  Why bother?"

            "Because, it's for the good of everyone else in the lovely city of Chicago," Peters replied innocently.

            "Lovely?  You hate Chicago," Brinkley replied.

            "Says who?"

            "You.  Just yesterday."

            "Well, if he's let to roam free any longer, he's a menace to society as a whole," Peters replied.

            "Wow, the next Bin Laden, huh?" Brinkley replied in mock awe.  "Well, this is an international emergency.  Better call the President."

            "Shut up Brinkley," Peters snapped.

            "Peters, you're just pissed off because he got you suspended for six months.  I say 'he'; _you're_ the one who caused the wreck."

            "No I didn't," Peters replied insistently.

            "Dude, either way, that was six years ago.  Get over it already," Brinkley replied.  "Now get away from my desk and go lose your game of spider already."

            "Shut up Brinkley," Peters repeated.  "Besides, now that he's been paroled, I'm going to watch him like a hawk."

"He already has a parole officer," Brinkley pointed out.

"Parole officer, shmarole officer," Peters muttered.  "Those Chicago people aren't worth the money they're paid."

Brinkley sighed.  _How did I get assigned this psychotic schmuck as my partner?  God, could you please let me know what I did to piss you off?  I promise never to do it again._

"Brinkley, call the wife and tell her to pack you some clothes. We're going to Chicago.  If he steals so much as a match, or goes one mile an hour over the speed limit, he's dead in the water."

"Whatever, P." Brinkley replied, reaching for the phone.  "I need a vacation; this should be good for giggles."

*          *          *


	7. The Journey Begins

            "Navi, what in the world are you doing?" Leslie called up the stairs.

            "Re-doing my packing," Navi called down.

            "What for?"

            "I decided I didn't need that many clothes.  I'm only taking my books, my notebook and pens, two extra outfits, an extra pair of shoes, my PJs, and my CDs," Navi called back, poking her head around the head of the stairwell.  _And my dad's vinyl_, she added silently.

            "Well, hurry up.  Elwood's sitting outside in the car waiting," Leslie called back.

            "I just gotta put my shoes on," Navi replied, dashing back around the corner.

Outside, Elwood eased the key into the trunk lock, turned it, and opened the lid.

            "It's probably a good thing that Mack and Cab didn't come along," Buster piped up.  "She probably packed her whole room."

            "What makes you say that?" Elwood asked.

            "Because she's a girl," Buster replied matter-of-factly.

            Elwood smiled, knowing that while Navi _was_ a girl, she was a girl full of surprises.  "We'll just see," he said with a grin.

            Just then, the door to Navi's house opened and she stepped out, with Leslie following not far behind.

            "Ah, the fun has arrived, I see," Navi said.  Elwood and Buster looked up, and both had to stop and stare.  Navi was decked out in the full uniform.  Black suit, tie, hat, and shades.  Only her shoes varied from the standard issue, and Elwood admired for a moment how the blue rhinestone hearts glittered in the morning sunlight.

            Elwood was once again amazed at how much she resembled Jake, especially now that she was dressed like him.

            "Fun's our middle name," Elwood replied with a chuckle.  Leslie came around from behind Navi and handed her a backpack and the large zipper binder that held all her CDs.

            "I thought you had the suitcase," Leslie said.

            "I reduced it to the backpack," Navi said.

            "Do you have the money I gave you?"

            "Two hundred.  In my pocket," Navi said.

            "Hey, how come I don't get two-hundred bucks from you?" Buster asked Elwood.  Elwood looked over at him, eyebrow raised slightly.

            "I'll call you from each place, okay?" Navi said.

            "Alright.  Bye sweetie," Leslie said, hugging her daughter quickly.  Navi returned the hug.

            "Bye Mom," Navi replied; she trotted over to the back of the car, set her backpack in, and then closed the trunk lid.

            "Don't worry Ms. Brooks," Elwood replied, "We'll take good care of her."

            "You'd better," Leslie replied teasingly.  "It's not easy letting your only daughter go off with a band that's made up of nothing but men."

            "If anyone tries anything, which is highly unlikely," Elwood assured her, "You can bet they won't be playing in this or any other band ever again."

            "I trust you," Leslie replied.

            Elwood nodded in reply, then opened his car door.  Buster headed for the passenger side door, but Elwood stopped him.

            "Buster," Elwood said, "Let Navi ride shotgun.  It'll probably be the only time she gets to."

            Buster looked over at Navi, who had been just about to get in the backseat.  Navi looked back at Buster.  Buster was slightly annoyed, but smiled at Navi and opened the front door for her.  Navi grinned back at him and slid in the front seat.  She suddenly pulled the door shut on her own and nearly threw Buster off his feet.  Buster sighed, but forced a positive mindset and climbed in the backseat.

            Elwood shifted the car into gear and pulled away from the curb.  Navi watched her mother wave at her in the rear view mirror as they headed down the street.

            "Now, you're not gonna go and get homesick on us are you?" Elwood asked, grinning slightly.

            "Nah," Navi replied.  "I'm glad to get away from home for awhile.  I love my mom and all, but she's kinda clingy sometimes.  And all my friends are gone for the summer.  Say, you got a radio up in this buggy?"

            "Oh, yeah, sure," Elwood said.  He reached over and turned the dial on, his usual blues station coming in thinly over the second-rate sound system.

            "Not even a tape player?" Navi piped up, then apologetically, "Sorry, not being rude.  Just asking."

            "There wouldn't be anything to play in one anyway," Buster piped up from the backseat.  "All Elwood has are records and eight-tracks…and half of them are too worn out to work."

            "Eight-tracks?  Cool," Navi said.  "I've always wanted an eight-track player, but I never could find one cheap enough.  I've got a record player though."

            "Really?" Elwood asked, "You got a lot of records for it?"

            "Not a whole lot.  Mostly some old ones my mom kept.  I've got Eddie Cochran, two KISS albums, the soundtrack for _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, and Janis Joplin's _Pearl_ album, and…um…"  Navi hesitated.  There was the one record of her dad's, but she didn't really like to mention it, though she wasn't sure why.  "And some others…lots of 45s."

            "Hmm," Elwood replied.  "Quite a collection for someone your age these days."

            "Yep," Navi replied proudly.

            "Well, you're modern enough to have upgraded to CDs," Buster said, leaning forward and pointing to Navi's large CD holder from behind the metal screen, attempting to join the conversation again.

            "Yeah," Navi replied nonchalantly.

            "What CDs d'you have?" Buster pressed.

            "Lots of different ones.  I listen to just about everything," Navi said

            "Can I look at them when we get back to the club?"  Buster asked.

            "Sure, I guess.  Wait, what club?" Navi asked, turning back to Elwood.

            "The club where the band normally plays," Elwood asked, the odd truth dawning on him as he answered.  "Uh, Navi, it's a strip club.  I forgot all about it.  You don't have to go in if you don't want to.  The girls usually do their dress rehearsals during the day."

            "Strip club, huh?" Navi said, thinking for a moment.  "Oh, hell, I won't mind.  It's not like its stuff I haven't seen in the mirror before."

            Buster's eyes went wide behind his shades, and Elwood cleared his throat and nodded.

            "Oh, shit," Navi exclaimed, exasperated at herself.  "By the way, in case you hadn't noticed, I have this habit of speaking bluntly about what's on my mind.  Just tell me if I ever get to be too much; everyone eventually does."

            "Well, it's not a bad thing," Elwood said, fumbling for a reply, "Not necessarily, but just, you know…"

            "Unexpected," Buster interjected.

            "Well, we're here," Elwood said, conveniently ending the awkward conversation as he pulled up beside the club's front doors.  "Navi, if you'll let Buster out of the backseat."

            "Aww, can't we keep him back there?" Navi asked teasingly.  "Just kidding, dude," she added, turning to Buster and grinning before she got out of the car, then let Buster out too.

Duck, Steve, Murph, and Blue Lou were already outside loading equipment into the band's blue van, with "The Blues Brothers Band" airbrushed in white decorative letters on both sides, that they had bought two years ago to go along with the champagne-colored Mercedes from Matt Murphy's dealership from the last time around.  They all stared at this female newcomer to the band, who struck an eerie chord in them all, reminding them of Jake.  Elwood had already told the story to the band members last night, and he had sternly sworn them all to secrecy.

"Hi," Navi greeted pleasantly, breaking the four players from their trance.

"Guys, this is Navi Brooks," Elwood introduced.  "Navi, this is Murphy Dunne, our keyboard player.  We just call him Murph."

"Nice to meet you," Murph said, shifting the medium-sized amplifier to his other hand and offering his hand to Navi.  "Say, how'd a nice girl like you get mixed up with this band?"

Navi chuckled warmly in her throat and smiled brightly.  "No idea," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Murph's the charmer of the group," Elwood replied good-naturedly.  "And this is Steve Cropper, one of our guitar players."

"Howdy," Steve replied, setting his guitar down and also shook Navi's hand.

"Duck Dunn, our bass player," Elwood continued, "and Blue Lou Marini, one of the horn section."

Blue Lou and Duck both nodded, straining under the weight of the rather large amplifier they were both carrying.

"We'd shake your hand," Duck said, "but we'd never be able to pick this back up again."

"Well, let's go inside," Elwood said, opening the door and letting Buster and Navi go in ahead of him.

"Um, up on the, um, stage," Elwood said, gesturing towards the a quintet of dancing girls rehearsing part of a dance routine in full makeup, wigs, and costumes.  "From the left, that's Dixie, Leticia, Consuela, Gigi, and Tara."

Navi turned her head to one side and stared, a look of slight disgust creeping across her face at the girls dancing suggestively onstage.

"Oh my god," Navi uttered.

_Oh no_, Elwood thought, _she's offended.  I've screwed up already_.

"Those are the ugliest costumes I've ever seen," Navi explained.  "And the wigs…my god, it looks like collies died on their heads."

Elwood was taken by surprise.  He looked again at the dancing girls.  Now that he looked closely, he agreed that those were some of the worst wigs he'd ever seen.

Elwood looked towards the bar, where Willie and Mack were instructing the two replacement bartenders on where everything was and how to run the cash register.  Onstage, Bones Malone, Alan Rubin, Cab, and Matt Murphy were gathering up the last of the sound equipment and the instrument cases.

"And for chrissakes, let's not drop Murph's keyboard again," Al Rubin said to Bones sarcastically, "It didn't do a damn thing to it last time, but I don't want to ride all the way to Sandusky listening to him carry on about it."

            "No joke," Bones replied as the two lifted the large, flat instrument off its stand.

            "Hi guys," Cab greeted as the three approached the stage.  He finished coiling the cord around a microphone and set it inside the padded microphone case.  "We bought all this travel equipment and I thought we'd never get to use it."

            "Aren't you glad I got paroled?" Elwood quipped.

            "Paroled?" Navi asked under her breath.

            "Hi Navi.  Buster.  Did Elwood drive okay?" Cab asked.

            "Yeah, for once.  I thought I was gonna die of shock," Buster replied sarcastically.

            Navi tilted her head to the side again questioningly.

            "Guys," Elwood addressed the other members of the band, who had stopped to stare at Navi when Cab had mentioned her name.  "This is Navi, the girl I was telling you about that's going to be working for us."

            "Oh, yeah," Al Rubin piped up.  "By the way, are we going to be known as _The Blues Brothers and Sister Band_ from now on?"

            "Hm," Elwood replied simply, then turned to Navi.  "The cranky gentlemen with the ponytail is Alan Rubin, but we call him Mr. Fabulous because he thinks he is.  He's our resident trumpet player.  That's Bones Malone on the other end of the keyboard, also a horn player, and this is Matt 'Guitar' Murphy."

            "One of the few of us who got to keep our real jobs," Alan retorted, then resumed toting the keyboard outside with Bones.

            "Yes," Elwood added as Matt finished locking his guitar case, "Matt here owns and operates a Mercedes dealership with his wife during the day, and plays with us a couple nights a week."

            "Nice to meet you, Navi," Matt greeted politely, leaning over the edge of the stage, smiling as he shook Navi's hand.

            "You too," Navi replied, smiling back.

            "Well, this must be your new recruit," said Willie as he walked up behind the group.

            "Willie, this is Navi Brooks," Elwood introduced again, "Navi, this is Willie Hall, our drummer, and also the owner and namesake of this establishment."

            "Oh, okay," Navi said, as if that explained some unique question of her own.  Willie, who wasn't one for shaking hands, nodded politely at her.  She nodded back.

            "Hi Navi," Mack greeted.

            "Hi," Navi replied.  All this meet-and-greet was tiring, and she hoped it was over.

"I swear, if nothing gets broken or stolen by these replacement idiots, I'll be surprised," Willie muttered to nobody in particular.  "Well, I gotta pack up the drums."  He made his way backstage.

"Um, is there a bathroom?" Navi asked timidly.

"Oh, yeah, um…well, these down here aren't that great," Elwood thought.  "Buster, take Navi upstairs to the good bathroom while you get whatever stuff you wanna take."

Buster nodded.  "Okay.  You want anything?"

"My briefcase is in the car…oh, wait, yeah.  Go in my bedside table and get that cigar box with the string around it," Elwood instructed.

Buster furrowed his brow, then nodded and turned to Navi.  "I'll take you upstairs."

"Alright," Navi replied, following Buster towards the back of the club.

"Man," Matt murmured as soon as the two young people were out of earshot, "Elwood, I can't believe how much she looks like Jake."

"No kidding," Duck said as he and Steve walked up, having just come back in from outside.

"When are you gonna tell her?" Cab asked.

Elwood sighed.  "I'm not sure.  Still thinking about it."

*          *          *

            Buster and Navi trudged up the brightly lit gray stairwell at the very back of the club.  Navi saw, as she set foot onto the landing, concrete walls painted dark stone gray with a large chrome hanging lamp that illuminated the hallway with two wooden doors set into the walls.

            "The one on the left is Willie's apartment," Buster said.  "The other one's ours."

            "Who all's that?" Navi asked.

            "Me, Elwood, Mack and Cab," Buster replied.

            "You _all_ live here?  How the hell do you all know each other anyways?" Navi asked.

            "Well, Cab adopted me.  And…well, it's a long story…" Buster trailed off, afraid that he might start in on the whole story and end up telling Navi what everybody wasn't supposed to tell her.  Buster was afraid she would ask more questions about it, but all she said was  "I see."

            He reached in his pocket to retrieve his key, then slid it into the lock and turned it until it clicked.  Buster opened the door and led the way inside.  "The bathroom's that door right there."

            "Thanks," Navi said, heading towards the door.  She went into the small room and shut the door, which didn't shut completely, but simply wedged in the doorframe and left a crack a few millimeters wide.

            "This door doesn't shut all the way," Navi called out, wondering if there was some trick to it.

            "Yeah, the door's swollen," Buster called back.  "Don't worry, I won't try and look in.  I'm going back to the bedroom anyway."

            "Alright," Navi replied, somewhat uneasy.  She pushed the door in a little more, just to be sure.

            Meanwhile, Buster ambled back to the back bedroom that belonged to Elwood.  Elwood had his own bedroom, as did Cab.  Mack slept on the pullout couch, and Buster on the twin mattress on the living room floor.  Buster had been sleeping in Elwood's room while he was in prison, but last night, now that Elwood was home, Buster had shared his first night in the living room.  The next morning, he had pleaded with Cab to switch Mack beds.

            "He snores!" Buster protested.  "I could barely sleep!"

            "Why do you think we put him in the living room?" Cab had replied.

            Buster made his way back to Elwood's room, which was still decorated with Buster's posters and other miscellaneous décor.  He went to the bedside table and opened it, revealing the contents; a broken belt buckle, a half-used bottle of aftershave, a worn issue of _Playboy_ from 1988, and a cigar box with a piece of twine tied around it.  Buster wondered what Elwood wanted the box for, and picked it up.   Just as he was closing the drawer, the _Playboy_ caught his eye, causing him to do a double take and pull the drawer open again.  Buster flicked his eyebrows up and down, and began to reach into the drawer, but stopped when he heard the bathroom door open.

            Navi struggled to keep her balance, having had to shove the door open with her shoulder to open it again.  "Damn…" she muttered, rubbing her shoulder, then straightening her suit jacket.  She heard a drawer being shut towards the back of the apartment and assumed it was Buster, so she walked towards the bedrooms.

            "I'm ready when you are," Navi said, sticking her head around the doorframe.  Buster jumped slightly and whirled around to face her.

            "Well, okay.  I...uh…I got Elwood's box he, uh, wanted, so, I'm, um, I'm ready," Buster stammered, holding up the old cigar box.

            Navi arched an eyebrow and nodded, then looked around at the posters on the walls.  "Who's room is this?" she asked.

            "Oh, um, this used to be my room, but now it's Elwood's," Buster answered, joining Navi in looking around.

            "Hey, cool," Navi exclaimed, pointing at one above the bed, "Ozzy Osbourne.  Ozzy rules."

            "Yeah," Buster replied.  "You watch _The Osbournes_?"

            "Never miss it," Navi replied, grinning.

            "We probably don't wanna go down too soon," Buster said.  "They'll make us load stuff in the van."

            "Well, maybe, but that's what I was hired for," Navi reminded him.  "I don't wanna get fired for slacking off on my first day."

            "But I thought Elwood asked you to sing," Buster said.

            "Yeah, and I'm sure all those guys want some girl invading on their territory," Navi replied.

            "Well, anyway, you could say we were late because you were checking your makeup," Buster replied.

            "Um, I'm not wearing makeup, Einstein," Navi replied, somewhat matter-of-factly.

            Buster suddenly decided to try his hand at flirting.  "What, you're not?  You look so good.  Must be natural beauty."

            "Are you preparing for a career in politics or are you just a pathological liar?" Navi asked pleasantly.

            "Hey, whaddya think's in this box anyway?" Buster asked, changing the subject.

            "How would I know?" Navi answered impatiently.

            "You wanna open it?" Buster playfully pulled at one of the strings.

            "No," Navi replied boredly.

            Buster sighed and let go of the string.  "Alright, well, let's go."

*          *          *


	8. Powdered Donuts in Wheaton

            Peters slammed the phone back onto the hook.  "Damn," he muttered.  He spun around and trudged back to the car.  The sign just a hundred feet ahead of them read "Welcome to Wheaton."  The agents hadn't wanted to be spotted in the Chicago city limits, so they had gone slightly northwestward out of their way.

"What's the skinny?" Brinkley asked, licking the white donut powder off his fingers.

            "I just talked to Blues' parole officer.  Seem's he's gotten permission to go out of town.  His band's doing a tour and, since it's a paying job, they let him go."

            Brinkley sighed.  "You mean we're doing traveling surveillance now?"

            Peters echoed Brinkley's sigh.  "Yeah, I guess so."

            "Where're they headed?" Brinkley asked, shoving his donut packaging back into the paper sack from the convenience store where he'd bought his snack.

            "Sandusky, Ohio," Peters said.  He paused, considering for a moment.  Did he really want to chase Elwood Blues across the country on their tour?  He and Brinkley had requested four weeks off for vacation, so they had plenty of time, since catching Blues committing some sort of minor criminal activity wouldn't take them long anyway.

            _No_, Peters thought, _I must catch him.  I'll catch that bastard, if it's the last thing I ever do._

*          *          *


	9. Bar Rules and a Duet

 "Alright," Navi said to Elwood, who had just checked the band in with the bar manager.  "What do you want me to do?  Unload?  Hook up?  What?"

            "Umm," Elwood thought for a moment.  "I guess just wander around the stage and get a feel of things.  Maybe learn how to hook up amps or something.  Um, since you and Buster are underage, you can't perform until after they stop serving liquor, but since you're on crew, you're allowed to help.  Uh, I checked and they have sodas if you get thirsty.  I'm sure you will, since we'll be here awhile.  Umm, let's see, what else?  Oh, don't go outside alone.  Don't go to the bathroom alo—well, actually, you have the exception on that one."

            "Yeah," Navi said with a chuckle.  "Mom went over the whole thing to do if I get harassed or cornered.  You know; scream loud, aim for the groin.  All that good stuff.  She even gave me pepper spray."  Navi reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small red canister.

            Elwood arched his eyebrows approvingly.  "Good to know," he replied.  "Um, when we're done hooking up, the manager said you and Buster can sit at the table over by the corner of the stage and watch the show until you two can come onstage.  I know Buster's been dying to perform for somebody other than the regulars at the club."

"Sounds great," Navi replied, nodding as she looked around the dimly lit establishment.  It was still early in the day, and there were only a few patrons scattered about the barroom.

"So, d'you think you'll be up to performing tonight?  I know you haven't rehearsed with us or anything, but I'm sure the band knows something you know.  We can start rehearsing some of your songs down the line."

            "No, I think I'll sit this one out," Navi said.  "I'll try and come up with some songs though."

            "Alright," Elwood said.  "Let's see, I think Murph's hooking up his keyboard to that amp over there, if you wanna go learn how."

            "Okay," Navi replied.  She began to trudge dutifully towards the stage.

            "Oh, Navi?" Elwood called out as an afterthought.  

Navi, halfway across the room, turned and faced him.

"Let me know what you think of the show, okay?"  Elwood asked.

Navi smiled.  "Sure," she replied earnestly, then turned back around and made her way towards the paisley-clad keyboard player.

*          *          *

Navi's ear's perked up at the guitar rhythms she heard from across the room.  She had been helping Duck and Bones carry in the last of the instrument cases and wires as some of the band members were tuning up their instruments before the last hour of rehearsal time before the show.  Through the conundrum of unsynchronized drum riffs and horn licks, she caught a distinct tune.  She set down the microphone cases she was carrying and walked quickly towards the stage.

The tune was coming from Steve's guitar, but was being played by Cab.

"Creed," Navi said over the band's chatter, walking up beside Cab.

Cab stopped playing and looked at the girl.  "Say what?"

"Creed.  'My Sacrifice.'" she said.  "I haven't listened to that song in awhile.  I love that song."

"Oh, yeah, well, I've been practicing along with Buster's CDs," Cab said.  "It's not quite right."

"No, it's good," Navi said.  "Play it again."

Cab wrapped his hand around the neck of the guitar and began playing the song again.  Navi counted silently to herself for the first eight or so bars, then began singing:

_Hello my friend, we meet again_

_It's been awhile, where should we begin?_

_Feels like forever_

Across the room at the bar, Elwood stopped mid-drink on his beer.  He slowly turned his head towards the guitar and the singing voice.  The distinctly female singing voice.

_Within my heart are memories_

_Of perfect love that you gave to me_

_Oh I remember_

Elwood plunked his half-empty beer bottle onto the bartop, slid off his stool, and made his way over to the stage in a trance.

_When you are with me, I'm free_

_I'm careless, I believe_

_Above all the others, we'll fly_

_This brings tears to my eyes_

_My sacrifice_

            Everyone in the band had stopped to listen to the voice-and-guitar duet.

We've had our share of ups and downs 

_            Oh, how quickly life can turn around_

_            In an instant_

_            It feels so to reunite within yourself_

_            And within your mind_

            Let's find peace there 

Elwood was awestruck, staring through the gray-green cover of his shades at his niece, whose voice he was, without a doubt, sure was good enough to add to the band.  Navi's voice rang out prettily; clear; yet it had a soulful quality to it, which was, as were the rest of her traits, quite similar to Jake's.

_When you are with me, I'm free_

_I'm careless, I believe_

_Above all the others, we'll fly_

_This brings tears to my eyes_

My sacrifice 

_I just want to say hello again_

_I just want to say hello again_

Cab brought the song to a finish after that part, slowing the song down and fading it out.

The second the song ended, the band and a few people in the now more populated barroom cheered enthusiastically, and some whistled through their fingers.

Navi laughed and blushed slightly.  "Thanks," she said between giggles.

Buster leaned against the backstage door and sighed heavily, staring at Navi from behind his shades.

"She really _can_ sing," Buster murmured to himself.

*          *          *


	10. Critique

"Thanks," Navi said as the waitress placed another glass of root beer on the table for her.  She took a few sips and watched the band play onstage.

            "Hey," said Buster as he approached the table.  "Can I sit here?"

            "Sure," Navi replied.

            Buster pulled out a chair, turned it around, and sat backwards in it.  "Decided to have a brewsky?"

            "Yeah, a root brewsky," Navi replied.

"So, whaddya think of the band and stuff?" Buster asked.

            Navi took a thoughtful sip of her drink.  "Well, they've got a good sound.  Elwood's got that cool deep voice.  Usually deep voices don't do good on lead, but his does.  He should do more lead.  Mack's got his groove on, definitely.  And Cab's real good too.  And, of course, I haven't heard you yet."

"Yeah," Buster replied.  "We've certainly heard you, though."

Navi chuckled.  "Yeah, well…," she trailed off.  "Anyways.  Um, the band…well, let's see.  I can't decide which guitar player sounds cooler.  The bass line's great.  Willie's got great rhythm.  Murph's one of the best _local_ piano geniuses I've heard yet.  And the horn section is sensational."

"You should write for the _Tribune_," Buster replied.

Navi laughed.  "Sure, why not?  But is it just me, or does it seem like they've played these songs, like, two million times?  And I heard some guy in the crowd earlier.  He said he'd been to one of the shows back in the 70s, and he said that most of the songs were the exact same.  Come to think of it, he left shortly after saying so."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Buster replied.  "Elwood doesn't like to change anything up very much."

"I see," Navi said, taking another drink of her soda.  "Well, I'll just have to say so."

"Why?" Buster asked.

"Well, Elwood told me he wanted to know what I thought," Navi said.  "That's what I think; they're good, but they're stuff is outdated."

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Buster said.  "Somebody said that once and Elwood went on one of his speeches about tradition and all the old artists, and yah-blah-blee."  Buster neglected to mention that it was he that had made the suggestion.

"Well, maybe an outsider's perspective might be different," Navi said.

"Well, I dunno.  But you definitely want to avoid the threat of an Elwood speech," Buster said.

"Why?"

"Well, he goes on and on, and as he goes on, he talks faster and uses larger words," Buster said.  "Mind-boggling the first few times, but really annoying once you get used to it."

"Well, I guess, if it happens, you can blame it on my inexperience," Navi said.  "Because he told me to tell him what I thought.  And that's what I think."

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," Buster said.

*          *          *

"So, where's the infamous techno-babble speech you were telling me so much about?" Navi asked as she and Buster walked away from the Bluesmobile towards their adjoining motel rooms.

"You tell me," Buster said.  "I don't believe it.  He said he thought you were right about it and that we'd start rehearsing new stuff."

"I know.  I was there, remember?" Navi replied.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"All that stuff you do," Buster protested, unable to really describe what he meant.

"I don't do anything unusual," Navi replied with a shrug.  They had reached the door of her room, which she had all to herself, and pulled her room key out of her jacket pocket.

"It's probably because you're…" Buster started, then trailed off before adding _Jake's daughter_.

"What?" Navi asked nonchalantly, struggling with the lock.

"Uh, a girl maybe.  Not that I'm being sexist, but…here, lemme help," Buster said, noticing that Navi was struggling with the lock.  He reached for the key and had the door unlocked within seconds.

"Thanks," Navi replied.  "I hate motel room locks."

"Yeah, me too," Buster replied.

"G'night," Navi said with a yawn, stepping into her room and waving behind her.

"'Night," Buster said back.

*          *          *


	11. Good News

            "Tri-Lite Talent Booking Company, Maury Sline here."

            "Maury, it's Elwood."

            "Hey, Elwood!  You're just the person I wanted to talk to."

            "Oh really?" Elwood asked, slightly surprised.

            "Yeah.  I found you a great gig.  Huge.  It's a bit far, but you'll agree with me when I tell you it's worth the drive," Maury replied eagerly."

            "You sound thrilled yourself," Elwood replied, "So were is it?"

            "Elwood my friend, how do you feel about Vegas?"

            Elwood's eyes widened behind his shades and the phone slipped from his hands.  "Shit!" he exclaimed, quickly retrieving the receiver from the floor.

            "Elwood?  You still there?" Maury asked on the other end of the line.

            "Yeah, sorry," Elwood replied.  "Um, did you say Vegas?  As in LAS Vegas?"

            "I sure did."

            "A-And just to get this straight, we're talking Las Vegas, Nevada, right?  Not Las Vegas, New Mexico, right?"  
            Maury chuckled.  "Yes, Elwood.  Las Vegas, Nevada.  The booking people at the Flamingo Hilton called up and they wanted me to put together some kind of blues showcase.  Apparently there's a big boom in interest of blues music west of the Mississippi lately.  I'm calling it the "Spirit of Chicago".  There's about six bands ready to go on it, and I'm wondering if you guys will be our seventh."

            Elwood was thrilled.  "Sure thing.  How long?  Will we be staying there?"

            "Of course.  With all the money…" Maury began.

Just then, Mack, on the other bed in the room, let out a long, loud, warbling snore as he drifted into sleep.

"What is that ungodly noise?"  Maury exclaimed.

Elwood chuckled.  "Mack's snoring."

"Sheesh," Maury replied.  "I didn't know a human being could make that kind of noise.  Sounds like the el-train derailing."

            Elwood listened further as Maury gave him all the finer, technical details of the Vegas engagement, which Elwood hastily scribbled down on the hotel stationary that lay by the phone.

            "Thanks Maury," Elwood said, "I owe you big time."

            Maury chuckled.  "No problem, man."

*          *          *


	12. Hallway Gatherings and a Band Meeting

            "Mack snores like a fucking freight train," Buster muttered as he stood in the doorway to his motel room, just as Elwood stepped out of his.  "I could hear him through the walls."

            "Tell me about it.  And don't say 'fucking'," Elwood replied.

            "Fucking," Buster repeated.  Elwood sighed.

            "Who's fucking?" said a voice behind them.  Both Elwood and Buster turned to see Navi standing behind them, clad in matching green camouflage-print sleep shorts and spaghetti-strap tank top and holding her toothbrush in one hand.  Buster felt a tad self-concious suddenly, standing in the hallway with only his pants on, barefoot and shirtless.

            "Nobody," Elwood replied.  "Buster and I were just exchanging pleasantries."

            "I know, I heard," Navi replied.  "I nearly spit toothpaste it was so funny.  But you're right, Mack _does_ snore like a mofo.  I feel sorry for you, Elwood."

            "Mofo…" Elwood mused under his breath.

            "Where's the buzz-saw anyway?" Buster asked.

            "Watching ESPN.  Where's Cab?"

            "Shower."

            "Well, we need to have a band meeting.  Down in the breakfast room or whatever it's called."

            "The place with the fish tank?" Navi asked, idly playing with the toothbrush, wiggling it back and forth with her index and middle finger and making it tap against her leg.

            "Right.  Buster, Navi, can you two do me a favor and help me call all the guys' rooms?"

            "Sure," Buster and Navi replied in unison.

            "Okay, Buster, you call Al and Blue Lou in 115, Bones and Murph in 117.  I'll call Willie and Matt in 116, and Navi, you call Duck and Steve in 118."

            "Cool beans," Navi replied.  She turned and went back through her open room door and shut it after her.

            "Did I just hear someone say something about beans?" asked Cab, sticking his head out from around the door, dripping slightly and clad only in a towel.

            "Yeah, Navi.  She said 'cool beans'," Elwood replied.

            "Oh, okay.  I just heard the word "beans" and it sounded oddly out of context," Cab replied.

            "Dude, Cab, go put some clothes on," Buster replied.  "Someone might see you and call management."

            "Alright," Cab said, backing away from the doorway.  "It's not like I'm _completely_ nude…"

*          *          *

            "Alright, Elwood, who are we running from now?" Duck piped up as Elwood stood before the group as they convened in the conference room.

            "Nobody," Elwood replied.

            "We can't pay the room fees?" Matt asked.

            "No.  I mean, yes, we can pay them," Elwood replied.

            "The equipment van blew up?  What's up, El?" Mr. Fabulous asked impatiently.

            "Well, we have a little change in direction," Elwood replied.

            "We better be playing the right place; not another Bob's Country Bunker," Willie said.

            "No, no, we're booked right.  I promise.  All I'm going to say is that we have a gig in…" Elwood paused for dramatic effect.  The group just stared at him.  "Las Vegas," he finished.

            "Oh, I always loved New Mexico," Murph said.  "Can we stop at Four Corners?"

            "Maybe, but it won't be on the New Mexico side," Elwood replied.  "Because we're playing in Las Vegas, Nevada."

            Everyone began murmuring in unison.

            "Wait, Las Vegas?  _THE_ Las Vegas?  Sin City _itself_??" Mack asked in bewilderment.

            "That's right.  Maury booked us as one of seven bands to play in the 'Spirit of Chicago' showcase that he put together," Elwood explained.

            "No kidding?" Steve said.  "Where at?"

            "The Flamingo Hilton," Elwood replied.  "And we get to stay there free.  All the bands have rooms free; we're taking up almost three whole floors.  Everyone has the same room arrangements as they had here and we'll get the room numbers at check-in."

            "Holy shit, man!" Buster exclaimed delightedly.

            "We actually have a gig in VEGAS!" Mr. Fabulous added.

            Elwood smiled to himself, glad that everyone had been as in high spirits about it as he had hoped they would be.

            "Well, guys, better get packing.  We gotta hit the road soon," Elwood added.


	13. So Cool

            "This is SO COOL," Navi exclaimed as she and Buster carried their stuff to the Bluesmobile.  "Vegas.  _Las friggin' Vegas_!  I've always wanted to go to Vegas, and now I _am_ going, and I'm in a _band_!" she exclaimed.

            "Being in a band makes it better?" Buster asked curiously.

            "Yeah!  That means that not only do we get to experience Vegas from the tourist's viewpoint, but from the entertainer's point of view too!  I mean, we'll know just how all the greats felt!  Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Neil Diamond, Tom Jones!  Well, actually, I hate Neil Diamond…"

            "I hate all of them…except Elvis, of course," Buster replied, grimacing slightly.

            "And Elvis was overrated," Navi added casually.

            "Say what?" Buster exclaimed, eyes widening behind his shades.

            "Well, he was.  I mean, Elvis has a wonderful voice, and was good-looking most of his life.  But, I mean, he didn't even write his own material.  He's like, the Britney Spears of his day."

            Buster just stared back.  He blinked to clear his thoughts, then raised his hand to Navi's face.  "Whatever…blasphemous fiend…"

            "Hey, you think what you want and so will I," Navi replied, crossing her arms defensively and staring at him somewhat icily.  Buster looked at her for a moment, wondering how mad he had actually made her.

"Okay, deal," he finally said, holding out his hand to Navi.  She eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds, then grabbed his hand and shook it with a surprisingly strong grip.

"Deal," she agreed, arching an eyebrow in a manner that seemed…Buster wasn't sure what it seemed like, but he enjoyed it for some reason.

*          *          *

**_A/N:_**_ Ok, nobody leave flaming reviews and/or sending me nasty emails regarding Navi's/my opinion of Elvis.  I'm not in the mood to start any debates._


	14. I'm Not Your Wife

            "Las Vegas, huh?" Agent Peters murmured to himself as he lowered his binoculars.  He had been watching the two youngest members of the Blues Brothers band walk out of the lobby of the hotel and to Elwood Blues' retired black-and-white cruiser and load their backpacks into the trunk.  Peters and Brinkley had parked their white Hyundai, the two agents' FBI-issued "stakeout car", only about 150 feet or so from the band's entourage and could hear the two talking, Peters had decided to use his binoculars in order to read their lips, making sure he heard clearly every word they were saying.

            "Ironic, isn't it Brinkley?  Sinners in the—" Peters looked over at his partner, who had fallen asleep and was slumped against the passenger door.  "Brinkley.  Brinkley, wake up!  BRINKLEY!"

            Brinkley snorted, jumping slightly and shifting in his seat.  "Oh, Katie, honey, I…had the most…horrible nightmare…" he murmured through a few yawns, his eyes half-moons of clouded grogginess.

            "I'm not your wife, Brinkley.  Wake up," he said, punching his fellow agent firmly, but not enough to leave a mark, on the arm.

            "Ow!" Brinkley exclaimed, coming fully awake.  He blinked a few times before his eyes focused on Peters.  "Christ, I'm not dreaming…" he muttered.

            Peters turned back to watching the two juveniles hovering around the old car making miscellaneous conversation.  "As I was saying, Brinkley, I find it ironic that this whole group of 'sinners' is on the way to the virtual hell mouth of sin."

            "Don't tell me…" Brinkley muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  "Vegas?"

            "Vegas, Brinkley.  Vegas."

            "Crap…fine, Vegas then.  But if we're dragging ass after these guys across the desert, we are _seriously_ going to have to buy a bigger supply of Dasani to keep in this tin can."

            "Sure, Brinkley, whatever…"


	15. Risky Business

Buster knocked on the door to Navi's hotel room. Even though Navi was the only one occupying the room, being the only girl in the band, she had gotten a room the same size as the members of the band who had to share. When they had arrived at the hotel earlier that afternoon, sometime around two-thirty, they had found out that Maury had booked enough rooms for the band members to only have to sleep two to a room instead of three or four. And Navi, of course, roomed solo, as it was only appropriate.

Buster paused before knocking again. He could hear muffled, yet loud music coming from within the room. He leaned closer to the door, trying to make out what song it was, but couldn't tell.

"Navi?" he called out, knocking on the door again. She didn't respond. _Probably can't hear me_, Buster figured. He knocked again on the door, harder this time, and to his surprise, the door pushed ajar a few inches allowing some of the music to flow out.

_…a little bit of everything all rolled into one_

The chorus of the song that followed was a mixture of the voices of the singer on the CD and the singer within the walls of the hotel room.

_I'm a bitch, I'm a lover_

_I'm a child, I'm a mother_

_I'm a sinner, I'm a saint_

_I do not feel ashamed_

_I'm you're end, I'm your dream_

_I'm nothin' in between_

_You know you wouldn't want it any other way_

Buster pushed open the door and beheld Navi standing on the bed, belting out Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" at the top of her lungs, singing into her silver hairbrush and swishing her head back and forth to the music. Her hair, which had been loosened out of the long braid it had been in during the morning, fanned out around her like some sort of dark halo.

Then Buster noticed something else missing besides the braid. Navi had shed almost all of her outfit except for the white shirt, black tie, and a pair of white bikini underwear with a large blue butterfly emblazoned across the front. Navi, Buster thought, looked a little bit like a female version of Tom Cruise in _Risky Business_ during his karaoke-in-skivvies scene.

"Oh, hi, sorry," Navi said when she finished the chorus of the song, lowing her hairbrush microphone to her side. "What's up?"

"Um, I…uh…was going to…" Buster stammered, trying not to look at Navi's virtually unclad lower half and not succeeding. Buster noticed that, while Navi wasn't really all that thin, she wasn't fat either, but "filled-out", as he had once heard one of the girls at Willie's club say about some other girl.

_Not half bad dude…aw man, Buster quit looking man she's…she's NAVI for crying out loud what would Elwood think? Say something and look away_, he thought.

"What's the matter? Are you, okay?" Navi asked, tilting her head to the side and arching an eyebrow. She stood there as if nothing were wrong with this scenario.

"Um, there…said that…I mean, um, are you, um…aren't you…um, cold?" Buster finally, yet pathetically managed to utter, pointing in Navi's general direction and forcing himself to stare fixedly at a remote spot on the wall near the baseboards.

"Cold? What the hell are you talking—" Navi cut herself off, a realizing look creeping across her face, which was the only thing Buster was now looking at.

"Oh my god…_I'M NOT WEARING PANTS_!!!!" Navi exclaimed in distress, more to herself than Buster or anyone else who happened to have heard. She leapt off the bed and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Buster stood there for a moment, not knowing quite what to do.

"Um, just…uh, I'm _so_ sorry," Navi called out through the bathroom door in answer to his silent query.

"Uh, that' okay," Buster replied, taking a deep breath.

"What…um, what was it you were going to say?"

"Um…I don't remember. Oh, wait, now I do. Elwood told me to come and tell you that they've closed off one of the lounges, for, um, band rehearsals for the next few days. Um, Elwood signed us up for rehearsal. It's not til' about nine tonight, though. Anyway, Elwood wanted me to tell you that. Oh, and Cab's trying to hit all of the magic shows in town and he wanted to know if we wanted to come with him."

"Um, I don't know, but, um…Buster?" Navi asked nervously through the door.

Buster hesitated. "Yeah?"

"Can, you, um…hand me my pants?"

Buster blinked a few times, then looked around the room. "Um, sure. Where are they?"

"On the chair by the window," she instructed.

Buster looked, saw them, and retrieved them, holding them by the waistband. He was unsure of himself, having never handled a girl's clothes before in his entire life. He stopped at the bathroom door and tapped the door lightly with his finger. "Here they are," he said tentatively. The bathroom door opened a few inches and Navi stuck out her hand. Buster handed her the pants, noticing that her nails were painted a gold-brown color instead of their usual blue.

"New nail polish?" Buster asked as Navi brought the pants through the door opening and shut it again.

"Yeah. I mean, new to have on this trip. Not a new bottle. I've had this since Christmas. My cousin gave it to me," Navi replied. Buster could hear the shuffling of cloth through the door. "So, um, are you going with Cab? To the magic shows?"

"Oh, no. I was thinking about hanging around, watching TV or something," Buster replied. He was about to add, _to see if I can access the porno channels_, but decided against it.

"Well, I was gonna go walk down to the MGM Grand. They have a really kickass arcade that really huge and all. I've seen it in the brochures. You wanna come with?"

Buster smiled at the invitation, "Sure, why not. Better than channel-surfing for six hours."

Just then, Buster spotted a vinyl record jacket lying on the table he was standing next to. He picked it up. Downchild Blues Band; _Straight Up_.

"Hey, cool record," Buster said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, it was my dad's," Navi replied through the door.

"Oh. Um, what happened to your dad? That is, if you don't mind me asking," Buster asked. He knew he was pushing his limits, but he wanted to see just how much she already knew about her family, if any at all.

"Oh, that's okay. He died before I was born. Not sure how or when. Mom won't talk about it. I have no idea why."

"Oh. What was his name?" Buster asked.

"Jake. Don't know the last name. Just Jake."

Buster looked again at the record jacket. Sure enough, written on the white border was _Jake B._

"Jake's a cool name," Buster replied, not knowing what else to say. "You should show Elwood this record. He could probably tell you when—" Buster stopped short, clamping a hand over his mouth before he said the rest, _when Jake bought it._

Just then, Navi opened the door to the bathroom, now fully clothed and her hair re-braided. "When what?" Navi asked casually.

"Um, when it came out and when all the songs were written. Who wrote them, that sort of thing. Elwood's an, um, expert on blues music. He could probably tell you some other stuff you'd like if you like that," Buster replied. _Nice save, buddy,_ he thought to himself, letting out a mental sigh of relief.

Navi arched her classic eyebrow at Buster and gazed at him for a moment, almost as if about to contradict Buster, then shook her head. "Sure thing. I'll remember to take it to him later. Anyways, you got money? I ain't payin' for all the games."

"Um, yeah, I have a little change in me and Elwood's room. I'll go get it," Buster replied.

"Okay, cool. I'll go tell Cab where we're going. Meet you by the downstairs elevators?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Buster said, turning towards the door. "See ya then. Oh, don't forget to close you're door good," he added, grinning nervously at her.

Navi chuckled, blushing slightly. "Ok, I will."

Buster left the room, breathing a sigh of relief when he was far enough down the hall.

_Dammit, kid_, he scolded himself, using Elwood's term, _you damn near blew it. Watch what you say around her._ Buster sighed again, the opened the door to his and Elwood's room with the plastic keycard and went inside.

Meanwhile, Navi quickly counted her money and shoved it into her pockets. She kicked herself mentally.

_Didn't you're mother tell you to check the door locks, Navi?,_ she lectured herself. _And dancing around in your underwear? What the crap? Are you insane?_

She looked down at the record on the desk. Buster had been acting weird, and rightly so, given the awkward situation they had just both been in. But Navi had noticed a different kind of nervousness when Buster had stopped mid-sentence when he was asking about the record.

_"You should show Elwood this record. He could probably tell you when—"_

He had stopped, then Navi had come out. He had finished the sentence, but somehow Navi gauged that it wasn't what he originally going to say. She stared at the record a little while longer, then shrugged.

_Oh, quit being so suspicious of the guy_, she thought. _He's nice enough, and besides, he had just seen your underwear for crying out loud. Of course he's acting a little weird._

Navi checked to make sure she had her room key, then left the room, making sure to close the door firmly behind her this time.

* * *

**_A/N:_**_ Even though it isn't mentioned in this chapter, if any of you are wondering where I got the idea for Cab being a guitar player, it's actually from the Blues Brothers 2000 game for Nintendo 64. For some reason, throughout the game, you have to collect the band members and the instruments they, somehow, supposedly play. Cab plays guitar, Buster plays drums, and Mack plays, I think, saxophone or something like that. Also, I want to apologize to any blues purists out there who may be reading this about the total lack of blues music in this story. This stems from my total lack of knowledge about blues music. Not a great excuse, I know, but there it is. :)_


	16. And Toto Too

            Navi rolled the last heavy brown ball up the ski-ball ramp, and then collected the tickets that spit out of the machine.  She looked around for Buster and spotted him near a crowd of people gathered around the DDR game.  She folded up her tickets in a neat stack in her hand as she ambled towards him.

            "I'm bored, what about you?" she asked as she stopped beside Buster.

            "Well, except for watching these guys dance it out, yeah," Buster said, gesturing at two punk-goth guys dukeing it out on the dance machines.  Navi giggled as one of them tripped on the legs of his overly baggy pants and lost the game.

            "How many tickets you get?" Navi asked.

Buster held out his meager bounty.  "Not many.  I suck at games," he replied.

"I got about forty-five,' Navi said.  She looked at her tickets, then shoved them into Buster's hands.  "Well, I don't want anything in particular, really."  She gestured at the prize booth.  "You can get whatever you want.  I gotta go pee; then you wanna walk around outside some more?"

"Sure," Buster said.  Navi trotted off towards the restrooms, leaving Buster alone with the pile of tickets.  He shrugged and walked over to the prize counter.  There wasn't really anything he wanted that he could see.  Most of the tickets were Navi's.  _Maybe I should get something for her?_, Buster thought.  He scanned the rack of stuffed animals dangling above the back counter.  _Girls like stuffed animals, right?_

"You wanna get something?  I'll count your tickets for you," said the guy behind the counter.

"Yeah, sure," Buster said, plopping the tickets on the counter.  The ticket guy measured the amount of tickets along the counting tape stuck to the counter.

"Fifty-four," the guy announced.  Buster looked around, eliminating some of the larger stuffed animals that cost more tickets than he had.

"You gettin' one for that girl you're with?" the guy asked.

Buster felt his cheeks redden slightly.  "Um, yeah.  I don't know what she'd like, though."

"Let's see," the guy mused, turning around.  "Ah, how about this one?"  He reached up and brought down a stuffed black terrier dog in a wicker basket.  "Toto's always a popular one.  Never met a girl who didn't like _The Wizard of Oz._  He's sixty tickets but I'll let you have him for what you've got.  We've got a million of these anyway."

"Alright," Buster replied, taking Toto from him.  "Thanks."

"No problem."

Navi was waiting outside the arcade when Buster came out, his hands behind his back.

"Trick handcuffs?" Navi guessed.

            Buster brought out the stuffed dog from behind his back and held it out to Navi.  "Merry Easter," he said with a grin.

            Navi's eyes widened behind her shades and her expression melted.  "Oh my gosh…Toto!  He's so cute!'  She snatched it from Buster and hugged it to her chest.  "But, you didn't want anything for you?"

            "Nah, not really," Buster replied.  "Besides, most of those tickets were yours.  And, um, its kinda to make up for, y'know, walking in on you."

            Navi chuckled.  "Well, I guess that's what I get for dancing around in my underwear.'  She thoughtfully rested her chin on the top of Toto's head for a moment, then perked up again.  "Hey, we should go get tattoos."

            Buster's eyes widened.  "Huh?"

            "Yeah, completely random, I know," Navi replied.  "But, like, there's this tattoo expo  in one of the hotels down the street.  I saw it on the news this morning.  I've got enough money for two, I mean, if you want one."

            "You don't mean, like, matching ones do you?"

            "No, of course not.  I didn't mean that.  See, I was gonna go by myself later on before rehearsal and stuff, but since you've been so nice to me, I thought you might wanna at least come with me."

            "Um, I dunno.  I mean, Elwood would kill us.  Or me, at least," Buster replied.

            "That's silly.  He's got his name branded on his knuckles," Navi protested.

            "Yeah, but you know how adults are," Buster replied.  "What about your mom?"

            Navi shrugged.  "She'll get over it."

            Buster scratched his head, thinking it over.  "Sure, why the hell not?  I don't know what I might want to get, though."

            Navi smiled, casually putting her arm around Buster's shoulder as the two of them walked towards the front doors of the hotel.  "They'll have, like, a tattoo menu or something to look at.  I dunno, you look like a dragon kind of a guy to me."

            Buster hesitated for a moment, then put his arm around Navi's shoulder in return.  "You think so?"

            "Yeah, dragons…all mysterious and powerful and…y'know, 'grr!'"

            Buster laughed.  "Navi, you're weird."

            "Yeah, I know."

**_A/N:_**_ Told you guys I'd keep 'em coming and stuff, didn't I?  I'm working on the next chapter already.  How will Navi find out about Jake?  Hmmm…well, you'll just have to wait some more, but it's coming up soon (no more than 4 chapters away, I promise.)_


	17. Will You Remember Me

Elwood slowly pushed open the door that led onto the roof of the hotel. He'd been glad to finally get out of the elevator where the snobby rich woman kept making weird "hmph" noises and eyeing him suspiciously.

Elwood spotted a slightly battered folding chair leaning against the ledge.

_Someone must sit up here often_, he thought as he crossed the gravel-topped roof towards it. _Hopefully they won't mind me borrowing their spot_. Elwood unfolded the chair and sat down, placing his cigar box on his lap. With little effort, he untied the worn string that held it shut and opened the lid.

Inside the box were a few folded pieces of paper and assorted photos taken of him and Jake by various people over the years. His only picture of Curtis had once resided in this box, but Elwood had let Cab have it instead. Elwood wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to keep up with all of these pictures, but he wasn't going to go questioning it all and jinxing himself.

The Penguin had sent most of the older pictures to him, extra copies that had been in the possessions of Sister Patrice, who had been St. Helen's resident photographer until she died, only a few years before the orphanage finally closed down. Elwood picked up the snapshots. There was a picture of he and Jake as toddlers. Elwood flipped it over and read the inscription.

_Jacob Papageorge, age 5_

_Elwood Delaney, age 2_

_1954_

Elwood laughed at the picture; Jake with his usual mischievous look on his face, one eyebrow raised, and himself staring wide-eyed at the camera as if it were some alien species. He picked up the next picture.

_Jake Blues, age 13_

_Elwood Blues, age 10_

_1962_

This one had been taken after they'd changed their last names, gotten their first suits, and given up "normal" clothes for good.

He picked up another. It was a picture of the both of them posed in front of a door, probably at a concert hall somewhere that had a "Backstage" sign attached to it. Jake was looking at the photographer (Elwood couldn't remember who had actually taken the picture), his usual eyebrow arched. Elwood, in a rare moment, had been caught with a rather broad smile on his face, looking off-camera and waving to someone.

Elwood put that one back in the box and took out one of Jake holding two small duffel bags.

_Jake Blues, age 18_

_Flying the Nest_

_1967 _

He remembered that day particularly well. He was fifteen, Jake had turned 18 the day before, and Elwood remembered that he'd felt an unsettling mixture of anger and depression over what was to go down that morning…

_ "Elwood, spill. I can't take the suspense any longer," Jake said._

_ Elwood, leaning against the wall in the entranceway, crossed his arms and looked down at the ground._

_ "Alright, what'd I do this time?" Jake asked, dropping his new secondhand duffel bag to the floor._

_ "Leaving," Elwood replied shortly._

_ "El, you knew I had to go soon. It's not my fault I can't live off this place anymore. I'm too old for it. If I could, I'd stick around until it was your turn to leave too," Jake explained._

_ "Then take me with you," Elwood replied, reluctantly detaching himself from the wall and stepping up to his brother. Although he was three years younger than Jake, he was at least two inches taller than him and still growing._

_ "I can't. The Penguin would kill me," Jake replied. "I would if I could, though."_

_ "Would you really?" Elwood replied bitterly. "Or would you rather not tote some kid around?"_

_ Jake arched an eyebrow. "What gives you that idea? Look, you're no kid. Hell, sometimes I start thinking you're the older brother. Besides, I told you I'd come visit you every Friday."_

_ "Promise?" Elwood asked hopefully, hating the fact that his voice was starting to break with the emotion he was trying to hold back._

_ "Promise, man," Jake replied. Elwood had crossed his arms again and returned his gaze to the scuffed wooden floorboards._

_ Jake tilted his head in concern. "You gonna be okay, man?"_

_ Elwood shrugged and absently began chewing on his thumbnail, one of his nervous habits that surfaced on rare occasions._

_ Jake sighed and reached out for his brother, crushing Elwood to him in a tight hug, surprising himself as much as Elwood with the sudden gesture of affection. Elwood stiffened his body, not wanting to give himself over to emotion, but finally could maintain his trademark stoicism no longer and surrendered. Elwood wrapped his arms around Jake and hugged him back._

_ "Hey," Jake said reassuringly, "I am coming back to visit next Friday."_

_ "I know," Elwood replied quietly, beginning to tremble as he tried hard not to cry. "But it just won't be the same.'_

_ "Yeah, I know," Jake replied, "But we'll always be together, okay?"_

_ Elwood couldn't contain himself any longer. His cheeks burned as tears began to stream out from beneath his shades. He pulled away from Jake and dashed down the hallway and up the short flight of stairs to the dormitory that Elwood shared with about twenty other boys his age. Thankfully for him, the room was empty._

_ Elwood took off his shades and wiped away the remainder of the tears with the palm of his hand. He felt like such an idiot; he almost never cried, especially in front of Jake._

_ "Jake!" he heard a woman's voice call out from outside. He moved towards the already open window. The breeze from the uncharacteristically warm January afternoon gently wafted into the room. Elwood peered out the window and saw Sister Patrice walking towards Jake, camera in hand._

_ "Picture!" she announced, putting the camera up to her face._

_ 'Aww, do I have to?" Jake complained teasingly._

_ "Just one last one," Sister Patrice promised. Jake smiled and stopped to let the nun take a final picture of him, packed bags in hand._

_ Snap-flash!_

_ "Thanks a lot, Jake. We'll all miss you," she said._

_ "Sister P, I seriously doubt that," Jake replied._

_ "Well, I'll miss you then," she compromised, popping the spent flashbulb from its socket._

_ "Well, that makes a whole two of you then," Jake said. He turned his gaze up towards the window and smiled at Elwood. Elwood felt his face turn red and gave Jake a melancholy wave._

_ Just then, a yellow taxi pulled up in front of the orphanage and honked its horn. Jake waved back to Elwood, then turned and quickly climbed into the car to take him to the apartment he was going to be sharing with Chance, another former St. Helen's inmate._

_ Elwood sighed as he watched the car pull away down the narrow side street and turn the corner away from the orphanage that had been his and Jake's home since they were tiny. Now it was just Elwood's home…at least for three more years. Elwood leaned his head against the window frame. He knew he'd see Jake again on Friday, but it still hurt to know he wouldn't be there like always._

Elwood was thrown out of his reverie as a sudden gust of wind came up behind him and scooped up the paper contents of the cigar box and spilled them onto the roof a few feet away. He jumped to his feet and scrambled after everything, picking them up as quickly as he could manage. The wind kicked up and blew some of them even further away from him towards the ledge.

He counted everything he'd picked up. _Oh crap, where's the backstage picture? Where is it? Where is it?! There! _Elwood spotted it resting on top of the ledge, fluttering precariously in the breeze.

Elwood quickly shoved the other contents in the box and held the lid shut tight. He ran over to the other picture and reached for it at the same time another gust came up and swept it over the edge.

Elwood stared after it as it fell, twirling gracefully down the side of the building to the street below.

"Shit!" Elwood exclaimed, pounding his fist on the concrete ledge, then recoiling from the pain that spread through his hand. He looked forlornly down the building again. The hotel's giant pink neon flower spread out beneath him, the unlighted side of its bare metal petals leering up at him.

_Fuck it. I'll never find it now,_ he thought dejectedly. _Well, at least I have all of the older ones._ He'd planned on showing them to Navi sometime tomorrow. But he had enough to carry out his plan of telling her about Jake.

Elwood made his way toward the door to go back inside. He wasn't looking forward to what he had to do, but it had to be done. He promised Leslie he'd do it, and he would. For Leslie. For Jake. For Navi. Hell, even for himself.


	18. Katy

Cab sighed as the spinning pictures came to halt.

Cherry. Cherry. Bar.

He'd been to all the magic show he could handle that afternoon and had decided to stop and play come nickle slots in one of the nearby casinos. He shrugged at his loss, then pulled another nickel out of his pocked and played again.

Grapes. Grapes. Lemon.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" said a waitress from over Cab's shoulder.

"Um, sure," Cab said, turning around, "I'll have a--" Cab and the waitress both stopped short and stared at each other wide-eyed and puzzled. After a few awkward moments, the waitress spoke.

"Commander Chamberlain?"

Cab blinked. "Lieutenant Elizondo?"

Elizondo nervously brushed a tendril of hair off her face. "Oh my gosh...wow. Small world, huh?" she replied with a nervous laugh.

"Tell me about it..." Cab replied. "Well, Everyone had wondered where you'd gone after you quit the force. Now I guess at least one of us knows."

Elizondo laughed again. "Yeah. Cocktail waitress. It pays alright. So, um, what brings you here?"

"We--the band that is--have a gig over at the Flamingo tomorrow night."

"You guys are in the blues showcase?" she asked enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, I'm actually going to that. I bought tickets yesterday."

"Really? That's great. Wow, this is..." Cab trailed off.

"Eerie?" she finished for him.

"Yeah."

"So," she continued, "what time do you guys go on?"

"About ten o'clock. We're either the third or fourth act. Oh, crap, that reminds me..." Cab pushed back his sleeve and looked at his watch. "I'd better get going. We've got the lounge for rehearsal in about half an hour."

"Oh, okay. I don't want to keep you," Elizondo replied. "It was really nice to see you again, Commander."

"Actually, it's Lieutenant Commander now," he replied.

"Oh yeah, I remember."

"Besides, you can call me Cab now, I guess," he added.

"Since we don't work together anymore...right. I guess that means you can call me Katy."

"Alright...well, I guess I'll see you later...Katy. I'll, um, let you get back to work."

"See ya." Elizondo replied. She gave a small wave before turning around to wait on another casino patron who was waving her over. Cab turned and headed for the exit.

_Elizondo? Quit the force, moved to Vegas, and became a waitress at the random casino where I just happend to stop and play slots... _Cab thought. _Who would ever thought of that happening?_

_**A/N: **Sorry this has taken so long, but I've been hell-a-busy! I love this chapter's plot!. This is one of the first things I came up with after the original story concept. My original idea was to have Elizondo as a magician's assistant at one of the magic shows, but I figured that a waitress would be even more random and crazy. I've had this written since sometime in May but haven't had time to type it up and post it. Well, anyway, expect even more wacky cameo-appearance hijinx to come!_


	19. Betrayal

Navi winced as she gingerly touched the reddened skin around her new tattoo, feeling the raised surface and trying not to mess it up. The artist had called it a tribal design, but now that she had removed the protective bandage, it looked more like a child's depiction of barbed wire.

"Tribal..." Buster muttered, as if reading her thoughts. "You know you got one of the most cliche designs ever, right?"

"Oh well," Navi replied, trying to push her shirtsleeve as far up her arm as possible. "I like the way it looks. Besides, aren't dragons, like, what, the second most cliche?"

Buster looked down at the small blue dragon snaking just above his wrist. "Well, you don't see a whole lot of blue ones, just red and green. And I'm pissed. How come mine bled more than yours?"

"I guess I'm just more resilient, I guess. So how long do you think we can hide these from Elwood?" Navi asked.

"He'll probably see mine first. As hot as it is, I don't think I can go too long without keeping my sleeves pushed up. Hell, he might not ever know you even got one."

"Sucks for you. Maybe you should've got it further up on your arm," Navi replied, blowing gently on her skin to cool the stinging.

Buster exhaled an incredulous breath. "_You're_ the one who said it would look good where it is."

"Nobody said you had to actually listen to me," Navi replied with a sly grin. "Besides, I don't think he'll do much more than yell at you. I mean, he's got tats, and I don't see him as _that_ much of a hypocrite."

"Yeah, you're probably right..."

The pair had stopped beneath the Flamingo Hilton's blooming pink neon flower above the main entrance. It was beginning to cast a faint glow in the dwindling light of dusk.

"I hate walking through the casino. I'm sick of all the rent-a-cops giving us dirty looks for breathing," Navi complained.

"Ah, to be a minor," Buster replied sarcastically.

Navi made an irritated sound in her throat. "Here, hold my doggie," she said. She handed Toto to Buster and rolled her sleeve down, cringing as the white cloth rested on her raw skin. "I hope the ink doesn't bleed too much and stain. I didn't bring another shirt...hey, someone lost a picture." Buster turned to where she was pointing and saw a piece of photo paper near the wall, twitching in the breeze. He walked over and picked it up. His heart skipped a beat when he saw what it was and he drew in his breath sharply.

"What is it?" Navi asked, coming up beside him.

Buster quickly moved it out of Navi's line of vision.

"Hey, no fair, I saw it. What's it of?"

"Um, nothing," Buster replied, trying to act nochalant and failing miserably. "Just a picture of the...floor...with someone's finger in the flash."

Navi narrowed her eyes and arched an indignant eyebrow. "C'mon, really, what is it? Is it porn or something? Geez, I'm not a prude you know--"

"No, it's not porn," Buster said with a very nervous chuckle.

"Well, so what if it's just the floor. I still want to...SEE IT!" Navi lunged at Buster's hand and snatched the picture away from him before he could react.

"No!" Buster protested, but Navi was already staring at the photo.

_Oh my...suits, hats, shades. That one waving...Elwood. Younger. Thinner. Who's that with him...not Mack, surely..._

Flip.

**_Jake and Elwood. 1978._**

_That's Elwood. Jake...Jake...who's...that's the same name as my..._

Flip.

"Navi--" Buster tried to grab the picture back, but Navi pulled it away and kept on staring.

_Oh my god. The eyebrows, the hair...curling, wild hair. Hard to brush... And that smile...that grin and don't you give me that smart-ass grin young lady you look just like your..._

"...my...father..."

_Shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit... _"Navi, I--" he tried again.

"You...you knew..."

"I--"

"You...knew...you all knew. Every last one of you and...you kept it from me?" Navi said slowly, taking a few steps back, almost as if she were afraid of Buster.

"I...but, Elwood, he told us--"

"I thought that...that..." Navi's breath came in short, shuddering gasps. "Well," she said a bit louder, her voice cracking, "Well, whatever I thought...I guess I thought wrong." She turned quickly and began walking away down the crowded sidewalk.

"Navi, wait!" Buster called after her. Buster jogged after her when she didn't stop, pushing past the people coming from the other direction and quickly catching up with her.

"Navi, please wait," he said. He grasped her shoulder and tried to turn her around. "You shouldn't--"

**_SMACK!_**

Buster's feeble protests were cut short as Navi whirled around and drew her hand sharply across his face. Buster uttered a short yelp of surprise as his cheek began to sting from the impact.

"Stay away from me!" Navi hissed, glaring at Buster icily for a moment before turning back around and running away down the walk again.

"Navi! Navi, come back! Navi, please!?" Buster watched helplessly as Navi darted dangerously into traffic and ran further away in the opposite direction on the other sidewalk. He reached up and rubbed his cheek again, feeling the heat where he was certain his skin was turning red. _Packs a punch there..._

He glanced down and noticed a small rectangle at his feet. It was the picture.

_The damning evidence... _ He bent over and picked it up.

_Wow...she really does look like Jake..._

_

* * *

_

Elwood jumped at the sudden sound of the rehearsal lounge doors being flung open. He turned to see Buster dash into the room carrying his suit jacket in hand and a stuffed dog in a basket under his arm.

"What's the matter with you?" Elwood asked as Buster stopped in front of him, panting.

"Elwood...I...there's--" he attempted, gesturing in all directions. Elwood suddenly noticed that only one of Buster's shirtsleeves was rolled up, then saw something dark on his wrist. He reached up and easily caught the befuddled kid by the arm.

"What the--?" Elwood blurted as he stared at the dragon tattoo. "What the hell is _this?_" Buster jerked his hand away, giving a short, frustrated growl.

"That's not important right now!" He plunked Toto on top of the piano next to them and fished around in his suit jacket.

"I'd say it _is _important--" Elwood began insistently.

"Lose something?" Buster asked, holding something up in front of Elwood's face.

Elwood took the object from Buster and held it where he could look at it better. His eyes widened behind his shades. "Where did you find this?" he asked, forgetting all about Buster's tattoo.

"Outside, near the front. But Elwood, she...Navi...she saw it."

Elwood felt his whole body go numb, like his heart had stopped cold in his chest. _This shouldn't have been kept from her. I should have told her before we came this far..._

"She saw it. She--she figured it out and ran off down the street..." Buster explained.

Elwood sighed. "Stay here. Tell everyone to go on with rehearsal and I'll be back as soon as I can. Which way did she go?"

"Go right when you come out the front, on the other side of the street," Buster replied.

"All right, I'll go find her..."


	20. Smoking's Bad For You

Elwood had spent the last hour and a half searching for Navi, asking about her to nearly every doorman and shop clerk in the direction that Buster had seen her go. Finally, one of the doormen had acted a little shifty when he denied having seen Navi.

"You're not a very good liar," Elwood told the guy.

"I—I swear, I haven't seen her," the doorman, a scrawny twenty-something guy in a green uniform, his eyes shifting back and forth.

"Look, how much did she pay you?" Elwood asked, digging in his pockets.

"I haven't—" the doorman began, but was stopped with Elwood's disbelieving stare. He sighed. "Twenty bucks."

"Look, I'll give you…thirty. It's all I have. Now where'd she go?" Elwood asked, holding the money out in front of the young man's face temptingly.

The doorman sighed. "She's on the roof. She told me not to tell anyone unless it was the police, so I wouldn't get busted for withholding information. But she said you probably wouldn't call the police."

"She's right," Elwood replied, shoving the bills in the guy's hand. The doorman gave Elwood directions, and soon Elwood was opening the door to the rooftop. He looked around, not seeing Navi at first.

"How'd you find me?" he heard her say from an unknown location.

"I'm inquisitive," Elwood replied, still looking around for her.

"I'm behind the blinky sign," Navi replied. Elwood went behind the buzzing electric sign, shielding his eyes from its bright advertisements until he got behind it. Navi was sitting with her back against the large humming box, which he supposed must be the power supply. Her knees were bent and she was using them as an armrest.

Elwood was slightly surprised as he watched her raise a lit cigarette to her lips and take a long drag. "Since when do you smoke?" he asked causally.

"Since seventh grade," Navi replied. She was staring off over what building tops she could see from her position. "I only have one on occasion, usually when I'm depressed…or confused…or pissed off. Seeing as I'm feeling all three of those in great amounts, I've gone through half the pack."

"Smoking's bad for you, you know," Elwood replied.

"Yeah, well lying is bad for you too, but you do that," Navi replied bitterly, tapping the ashes off the end of her cigarette.

Elwood sighed. "Navi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Nobody means to," Navi replied. "Nobody ever really means to keep me in the dark all the time, it's just that they're too busy feeling sorry for themselves…or covering their own ass. Or covering someone else's ass."

"Look, I can't speak for your mother or anyone else. In fact, it was your mother that suddenly informed me that I had to tell you about…your father."

Navi finally looked over at Elwood, staring at him in curious silence for a moment. "I should've figured that," she answered finally. "She can't ever talk about anything important herself. Hell, she made my aunt give me the sex talk because she couldn't handle it."

"Oh…really…" Elwood said, feeling he had to say something but having no real reply on hand.

"So how long have you known about me?" Navi asked.

"Um…well, how long have we known each other?" Elwood replied, chuckling nervously.

Navi's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh…well…that's…huh…"

"Well, give or take a day or two, but yeah. It was really sudden. See, your mom wrote The Penguin when she saw us on the news a few years back—" Elwood began.

"Wait, what? _'The Penguin?'_" Navi interrupted.

"Oh, um, the nun who ran the orphanage where me and Jake grew up," Elwood replied. "We call her The Penguin."

"Oh…I thought maybe you worked at Linux or something…" Navi replied.

"What?" Elwood was the confused party this time.

"Linux, it's a compu—…nevermind," Navi replied. "Here, sit down." She patted the ground next to her. Elwood sat down beside her, the warm side of the power box against his back.

"Want one?" Navi asked, offering Elwood the pack of cigarettes.

"Sure," Elwood replied. He pulled one out, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it with the lighter Navi handed him.

"Smoking's bad for you, you know," Navi said teasingly.

Elwood exhaled a puff of smoke. "Yeah, I know. Alright, since you deserve to know, ask me anything."

"Okay…boxers or briefs?"

Elwood coughed, choking on the smoke in surprise. "_Why_?"

"You said I could ask you anything."

"I meant—"

Navi giggled. "I know, I'm kidding. I could care less what kind of underwear you wear."

"Good," Elwood replied, clearing his throat.

"Okay, let's see…a real question." Navi thought for a moment. "So you and Jake were…brothers, right?"

"Right."

"So that makes you my uncle?"

"Yes…well, kinda..."

"Kind of? Well, are you or not?"

"We're not blood related. Like I said, we grew up in the orphanage together. We just always called ourselves brothers. We are brothers, just not…genetically."

"I see. Okay, and he really is…dead?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Because I was afraid that, like, he'd just left and Mom maybe told me he was dead so I wouldn't look for him. That kind of thing always happens on TV and stuff."

"If he wasn't really dead, you'd have met him by now. He died when I was still in prison for that 18-year stretch…I think Buster already told you about me being here," Elwood explained. "Buster's not mine, by the way."

"I know, he told me that too. What about everyone else? Mack and Cab?" Navi asked.

"Mack's been bartending at Willie's for a few years, even before I met him. Cab is Curtis's son." Elwood could see Navi's confusion. "Curtis worked as a janitor at the orphanage. He was like a father to me and Jake…taught us about blues and stuff."

"I see…hey, and that makes me wonder. Is Blues REALLY your last name?"

"Yep," Elwood replied. Navi looked at him skeptically. "What? I'm serious," he replied. "Has been since I was about ten. Me and Jake changed it to Blues, so legally, that's our last name."

"What was your birth last name?" Navi asked inquisitively.

Elwood hesitated, almost as if he were embarrassed a little. "Delaney."

Navi pondered this. "Hmm. Nah, Blues sounds better. What was J—my father's?"

"Papageorge."

"No shit, really? That's weird, because I've had a lot of people tell me I look gypsy or something," Navi said.

"Yeah, I think it's…umm…Croatian or something," Elwood tried to remember.

"Wow, and I thought I was just some plain old white chick, like my mom. So, do I look like him?"

"Does the pope wear a tall hat?"

Navi laughed. "Wow, cool. I always figured I did, since mom's got all these lighter features…and a decent nose."

Elwood looked over at her. "Well, you must've gotten some of your mom's nose, 'cause yours isn't as big as his was."

Navi touched her nose and laughed again. There was a thoughtful silence between them, then Elwood reached in his jacket.

"Here, you can have this," he said, holding out the picture towards Navi. "I have some others. I'll show them to you when we get back to the hotel. Which reminds me, we're late for rehearsal."

"Shit! I totally forgot! God, I feel so stupid, I'm sorry," Navi replied. She jumped to her feet and helped pull Elwood up off the gravel.

"Nah, don't feel bad. The band's used to unpunctuality. They'll just think you inherited it."

"Geez, was I the only one on this whole trip who _didn't_ know?" Navi asked, as they headed towards the roof exit.

"Yeah…listen, I'm real sorry about that. I was…I was actually going to tell you about it after the concert. After you'd sang your song."

"My song? What song?" Navi asked.

"This song," Elwood replied, pulling a small slip of paper from his pocket. He handed it to Navi.

She took the paper from it, eyebrow raised curiously. It was a sheet of three-ring notebook paper, folded the way she and her school friends usually folded their notes they passed during class. She opened it up and saw a few verses written on the paper in messy, slightly smudged handwriting.

"This is a song Jake wrote…god, sometime in the seventies I think. Anyway, he had me hold onto it, since he figured I'd keep up with it better. The band learned it, but I think we only performed it once or twice. The only thing we've ever played that wasn't a cover song. Anyway, I was going to have you learn it tonight, we'd do it for the concert, and then I'd…tell you where it came from."

Navi smiled up at him. "So, uh, how long was this plan….planned?"

Elwood cleared his throat and scratched a nonexistent itch beneath his collar. "Um…about an hour before Buster came in to tell me you'd run off."

"Nice."

"Well, the last time I broke the truth about someone's father to them, Cab physically threw me out of the police station. I was trying to come up with something less…" Elwood thought for a word.

"Abrupt?" Navi finished for him. Elwood nodded. "Wow," she mused, "I guess it's better that he didn't throw you in a cell, huh?"

"Yeah."

They were now at the foot of the stairs they had been descending during their conversation. The made their way down a small hallway and exited out into the back alley behind the casino.

"Elwood…" Navi began.

He looked down at her. "Hmm?"

Navi surprised him by flinging her arms around his torso and tackling him with an affectionate hug. Elwood become rigid, surprised, then relaxed and embraced her in return.

"I'm not mad at you for not telling me," Navi said.

"No?"

"No." Navi rested her cheek against Elwood's chest, staring absently down the alley. Then her eyes flicked upward as she thought of something. "Do I have to call you Uncle Elwood now?"

Elwood laughed, patting Navi on the back. "Not if you don't want to."

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to Kat for pointing out a continuity error on the first upload!_


	21. Poolside

Navi absently pulled at the hair elastic she had around her wrist, watching the activity of the rest of the few pool-goers that were out that afternoon. It was almost noon and Navi figured lots of people were out to lunch. However, she was glad that there weren't that many people there, since she'd come there to think, and the absence of the screaming children she'd glimpsed out her window earlier that day was refreshing.

As well as trying to keep the lyrics and rhythms of Jake's song in her head, which she'd learned fairly quickly during rehearsal, she was thinking about Jake in general.

"Tanning?" said a voice nearby.

Navi shielded her already shaded eyes with her hand and looked away from the pool. Buster stood beside the plastic chaise lounge she was lying on, wearing black cargo swim trunks and his usual white shirt, which was unbuttoned to show his chest.

"Oh, um, no," Navi replied. "Just…sunning. It's a different kind of heat out here than in Chicago."

"Yeah…less smog," Buster agreed. He stood, looking down at her anxiously. "Oh, here," he remembered, holding up two plastic bottles. "I brought soda."

"Oh, cool. Thanks." She took one of the bottles from him, then Buster sat down at the foot of her chair. Navi moved her feet over a bit to accommodate him.

"So, um…" Buster began nervously. "That's a pretty cool song you've got for the gig. I've never heard it before."

"Oh, um, it's one that Elwood gave me. It's on that J—my dad wrote a long time ago." Navi chuckled nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I still don't know what to call the guy."

Buster bit the tip of his tongue, his mouth closed. "Look, I'm real sorry about all that…not telling you. It's just that when we were in your living room, and your mom said you didn't know. And then Elwood told the rest of the band not to tell you, and—"

"Buster, it's okay," Navi interrupted. "It's not your fault. I just…I'm sorry I hit you."

"Nah it's okay," Buster said, waving it away. "We're cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool." Navi replied. She fidgeted and adjusted her position on the chair. Buster noticed her overall appearance; black one-piece bathing suit (that he noticed she filled out quite nicely) and a pair of dark denim cutoff shorts, her hair down and he legs bare.

Navi ran her thumb under one of her swimsuit straps, and glanced up at Buster. He was afraid she would accuse him of checking her out, but instead she squinted at him and said "Geez, you look red already. Did you even bring any sunscreen at all?"

Buster blinked hard, then shook his head.

"Here, use mine," she said. She reached into a small mesh bag next to her chair, pulled out a small orange bottle and tossed it to Buster. He removed his shirt and slathered the thick white lotion generously over his arms, legs, and chest.

"Here, I'll put it on your back," Navi said when Buster began trying to do it himself and was failing awkwardly. Buster moved to the side of her chair nearest the edge of the pool and sat with his legs in the water. Navi squeezed a dollop of lotion onto her palms and began rubbing it into his back.

"Wow," Navi said.

"What?"

"You've got these back muscles like nothin' happenin'," Navi said, rather nonchalantly. "Must be all the equipment lifting."

Buster blushed, thankful he was facing away from her. "Um, thanks." He thought for a moment. "I guess it's a good thing you haven't got many muscles, you could've really hurt me when you slapped me."

"Ha!" Navi laughed incredulously. "I saw you wince."

"Well, yeah, it stung, but…" he smiled mischievously. "You still hit like a girl."

"Hmm. Well, we'll just see about that…"

Suddenly Buster felt Navi's palms flatten against his back, and the next thing he knew he was immersed in the cold chlorine water. He paddled upward and surfaced, sputtering. His feet found the bottom of the pool as he looked up through the droplets on his shades to see Navi rocking back and forth, laughing delightfully.

"Gotcha," she said between giggles.

Buster narrowed his eyes mischievously. He reached up and grabbed Navi by the ankle and pulled. Navi screeched as her chair tipped over and slid her into the pool next to Buster. She came up coughing and blowing the water off her lips, holding her shades in her hand.

"Okay, I suppose we're even now," she said, pushing the hair off her face.

"Sure thing," Buster said. "You missed a hair."

"Where?" Navi swiped at her face, but a few strands still stuck to her cheek. Buster reached over and brushed them off her face and tucked them behind her ear. His hand lingered, tracing her jaw line lightly with his finger. Navi looked up at him, a look of puzzled anticipation on her face. Then Buster leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.

After a moment, they both pulled away. Navi looked up at Buster.

"What was that for?" she asked.

Buster blushed, but still looked back at her. "I'm not sure. You just looked so…pretty…and stuff."

Navi chuckled warmly. "You make me laugh," she replied. She then pushed past him, swimming past him and splashing him with water as she kicked by. Buster wiped the droplets off his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he called after her.


	22. Showtime!

"You guys ready?"

Elwood turned to see the shiny bald head of the stage manager/emcee, who had eariler introduced himself as Paul, sticking out from between some backstage curtains.

"Just about," Elwood replied. "Give us about five more mintues?"

"Okay," Paul replied. The stage lights glinted off his dark purple sunglasses.

"Thanks." Elwood paused. "Hey, you look familiar."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Hey, wait, you look just like that guy who worked for Que--"

"I'm not," Paul cut him off. "Five minutes, then I'll announce you." He quickly retreated behind the curtains and was gone.

Elwood stood still, blinki8ng in confusion. He could've sworn...

"Hey Elwood," Buster called, pulling Elwood from his reverie. He turned to see the kid holding a giant tangle of cords that belonged to the microphones. Buster looked from Elwood back to the impossible mess sheepishly.

"See that one with the electrical tape on it? Push it back through that loop there," Elwood instructed.

Buster complied and the mics seemed to instantly come untangled. "Whoa...cool."

Just then, Navi came bursting onstage, back from her last-minute trek to the bathroom. Elwood saw that she'd attempted to de-frizz her hair with water, and had applied a bit of peach-colored lipstick.

"Oh...it's so I don't look too washed-out," Navi replied, tenatively putting her fingers to her lips.

Elwood grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just like we rehearsed it. You ready?"

"What the hell, let's kick it into gear," she replied.

"Buster and Mack had just finished setting up the mic stands when they heard Paul begin his announcement.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I hope you got doen what you nad to do during the intermission--"

"That was NOT five minutes," Buster muttered.

"--because you don't want to miss a second of this band's set. Put your hands together for the ever infamous Blues Brothers Band!"

The crowd clapped politely in unison, creating a nice whooshing sound mixed with a few audible cheers from those in the audience who happened to have heard the band before. The curtains parted just as the five suited musicians took their places at the front of the stage.

The band kicked into their usual opening of "I Can't Turn You Loose", and Elwood began his opening monologue.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Flamingo Hilton Hotel and Casino in the heart of Las Vegas, Nevada; a city of lights, late nights, and hedonistic delights. We hope you all enjoy the show and remember, whatever happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas."

The band played the final bit, then immediately moved 8into "Time Won't Let Me." They did an obligatory performance of "Viva Las Vegas," since, strangely, none of the other bands had performed that night. They did "Sweet Home Chicago" and "(I Got Everything I Need) Almost", since they were two of their regular audience's favorites.

After bringing down the ending of "Almost", Elwood nodded to Steve, who then played a smoothe lick on his guitar that led the band into a slow, mournful jam.

"And now," Elwood began, "We'd like to take it down a notch and also introduce you to our newest band member. This lovely lady down the way is the first "sister" in the Blues Brothers band. The daughter of my late, great brother Jake, please give it up for Miss Navi Blues."

Navi gave an acknowledging nod to the crowd. "Now if I had siblings named Skye and Indigo, we'd be a full color wheel," she joked coyly into the mike. The audience chuckled.

"Elwood gave me a song the other day that was written by my father before I was born, and he thought it would be a good one for my stage debut," Navi explained briefly over the slow, sad music. "It's a little piece called 'Every Day,' and I hope you guys like it."

_Your love, baby_

_Its like my own private drug_

_I need more_

_And more_

_A little bit more every day_

_When it's taken away_

_I'm not rehabilitated_

_No, no, no_

_I only miss it more_

_Need it more_

_Crave it more, more, more_

_Every day_

_Up when I'm with you_

_Down when you're gone_

_Don't know what I'm gonna do_

_I won't wait anymore_

_I can't wait anymore_

_Don't wanna wait anymore_

_To be with you_

_Every day_

_Your love, baby_

_Is like my own private drug_

_I need more_

_And more_

_A whole lot more_

_every day_


	23. What's The Deal With This Nutjob?

"Commander Ch--, I mean, Cab!"

Cab turned to see Lt. Elizondo standing near at the end of the hallway that led to all the dressing rooms backstage. He smiled and waved her over to the one of two dressing rooms that their band had been assigned for the gig.

The backstage area was in between states of celebration and meet-and-greet sessions, each band celebrating their accomplishment of another night and comparing and complimenting each other's performances.

"Hey, um, Katy," Cab greeted.

"Hey," Lt. Elizondo replied. "I didn't know if I could just come on back or what."

"Yeah, none of us are high-profile bands so they just kinda left us back here on our own...I think they just have the security cameras in case someone starts trashing the place," Cab mused. He set down the amp he had been carrying from offstage.

"I didn't know Elwood had a niece," Elizondo prompted.

"Yeah, he didn't either until a few weeks ago," Cab replied with a laugh. "It's a long story."

"Um, excuse me."

Cab and Elizondo turned to see a guy in the hotel's uniform standing in the doorway, holding a slip of paper.

"Do any of you know an Elwood Blues? I have a message for him. They said he'd be back here," the guy asked.

"Yeah, he's in the room across the hall," Cab replied.

"Elwood Blues?"

Elwood, Buster, and Navi looked up from their card game (a game called "nuke" that Navi had insisted on teaching the two of them.) "That's me," Elwood replied.

"You got a phone call at the front desk. The caller asked me to deliver this personally." The guy handed slip of yellow message paper to Elwood, who looked at the guy questioningly before reading it.

_To: Elwood Blues_

_From: Agent J. Brinkley, FBI_

_urgent, deliver personal_

_(verbatim): My partner Agent Peters is on a mission to falsely arrest you. I believe he is mentally unstable. We are on the way to your gig ASAP. I have called for local FBI backup to contain Peters, but they will arrive a bit late. Call hotel security to keep him at bay. I will be playing along until security or FBI can contain._

"Well, I guess get security in here," Elwood replied. The hotel guy nodded and promptly scurried away.

"What the hell was that all about?" Buster asked.

"That FBI guy, Peters. He's trying to arrest me for...something or other," Elwood replied.

"But we haven't done anything this time," Buster replied.

"Did you say Agent Peters?" Cab asked from the doorway, with Lt. Elizondo peering curiously over his shoulder.

"Yep."

"Oh my god, he's gone of the deep end, hasn't he?" Elizondo asked.

"Whoa, what's she doing here?" Buster asked.

"Who's she?" Navi chimed in.

"Guys, you remember Lt. Katy Elizondo. She quit the force and waitresses here in town. Ironic, huh?" Cab explained.

"Hi everyone. Elwood, Buster," Elizondo replied, waving timidly. "Um, no hard feelings, I hope."

"Not at all," Elwood replied cheerfully.

"STAND ASIDE!"

Just then, Agent Peters roughly shoved Cab and Elizondo out of the doorway and flashed his badge at everyone in the room. "So, we meet again, Mr. Blues." Another man, who Elwood assumed was Agent Brinkley, stepped up beside Peters, looking embarassed and glancing at his watch.

"Agent...Peters, isn't it?" Elwood replied. "It's been awhile. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, you're under arrest."

"For what?" demanded Buster.

"Quiet, kid. Mr. Blues, come with me."

"He hasn't committed a crime, _sir_," Navi replied acidicly.

Peters glared at Navi and Buster. "Be quiet, or I'll charge you with obstructing an official investigation."

Elwood looked down at the yellow slip of paper in his hand. He made eye contact with Agent Brinkley, and pointed at Brinkley subltly, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Brinkley nodded ever so slightly, stepping back and looking down the hallway. He must have seen something he needed, for he breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped back out into the hallway.

"The girl's right," Elwood continued casually. "I've actually managed not to commit a crime this trip, so you have no reason to detain me."

"So you say," Peters replied sardonically. "It just so happens that--"

"Him, right there," Brinkley piped up, pointing at Peters.

"Brinkley, what the hell--" Peters stopped at the sight of two burly security guards before him.

"Officers, this man is harassing us," Buster piped up.

"Agent Brinkley, FBI," he addressed, flashing his badge at the two officers. "I have to ask you to please detain Agent Peters here until the FBI backup team arrives to take him back to headquarters. He's an official psychiatric case."

The two guards nodded, then stepped forward with silent menace and each of them seized Peters by an arm.

"Hey, you can't take me! Dammit, I'm an FBI agent. I outrank you! I order you to let me go...NOW!" Peters protested, attempting to free himself from the guards' grip. "Brinkley, you son of a bitch! You traitor, I'll have your badge, I swear!"

"Yeah, since I'll be getting a shiny new one when I get promoted, you can keep my old one and pretend you're still an agent," Brinkley replied bitterly.

"Dammit Brinkley!" Peters shouted as the guards led him down the hall, with some degree of difficulty. "I almost had him! Blues is a criminal, he should be locked up! LOCKED UP!"

"Yeah, you'll be in lockup in a crisp white jacket soon enough," Brinkley muttered, watching the scene down the hall. He turned back to Elwood and grinned. "Very sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Blues."

"No problem," Elwood replied.

"Geez, what's the deal with that nutjob?" Navi asked.

"Mentally unstable, I believe. Our department's going to run some tests, get him some counseling. His personal grudge against you all just went a little too far, I guess," Brinkley replied. He then turned to Cab and Elizondo. "Sir, ma'am, are you two okay?"

"I'm good," Cab replied.

"No harm," Elizondo chimed in.

"Well, I'll be going now," Brinkley concluded. He reached into the breast pocket of his shirt, pulled out a white business card and handed it to Elwood. "If you need anything, give me a call at my office."

"Thanks," Elwood replied, glancing at the official FBI heading and pocketing the card.

"No problem. You guys keep staying out of trouble. Keep these kids safe," Brinkley replied. He waved at Navi and Buster politely, then stepped out of the room.

"Bye," Navi and Buster replied in unison after him.

The six of them exchanged bewildered expressions.

"Umkay, that was really weird," Navi replied.

"Hey, I just saw security," said Mack as he appeared next to Cab in the doorway. "What happened?"


	24. Bricks In The Wall

Navi idly watched the psychadelic images of _Pink Floyd: The Wall _flash across the television screen as she listened to the phone ring endlessly on the other end.

"Pick up, dammit," she muttered, grabbing another Sour Patch Kid from the large container next to her on the bed.

Finally, she heard a "click" on the other end. "Hello?" said Buster's voice groggily on the other end.

"You still alseep?" Navi asked irritatedly. "It's one thirty."

"Sort of," Buster replied. "What're you doing?"

"Watching a movie," Navi replied. "I have good news."

"You saved a lot of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico?"

"Ha ha," Navi replied. "Get up and get dressed and meet me at the bus stop by the bar."

"Why?"

"So I can tell you. And Elwood too."

"Um, okay. I guess I'll see you there."

"Good. 'Bye!" Navi hung up, a satisfied smile on her face.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what's this big news?" Buster asked, sitting at the empty bar and plopping the takeout bag on the countertop.

Navi took a long dreg from her McDonald's cup and arched an eyebrow. "Go get Elwood, then I'll tell you," Navi replied.

Buster sighed. "Fine," he replied. "ELWOOD!" he shouted to the air, knowing Elwood was somewhere nearby.

"Dumbass, I could've done that," Navi replied. Buster punched her playfully as Elwood appeared from somewhere in the back.

"Whaddya need? Oh, hey Navi."

"Navi says she wants to tell us something...or something," Buster replied, unwrapping a double cheeseburger and taking a bite.

"Good or bad?" Elwood replied.

"Bad. I've just had a baby in the ladies' room," Navi replied dramatically.

Elwood shook his head, grinning. "What is it?"

"Well, my mom looked into everything, and she's found a way for Buster to get a scholarship to go to St. Brighid's Academy with me when school starts next month. All you have to do...or Cab or whoever, has to do," Navi explained, fishing in her backpack purse, "is fill out and sign all these wonky official papers, and he can go." She held out a small stack of papers toward Elwood.

Buster nearly choked on his food. He cleared his throat, blinking in disbelief. "What? Freakin' private school? Holy shit."

"Watch your mouth," Elwood replied, taking the papers from Navi. "St. Brighid's? I didn't realize that's where you went to school. That's one of the most expensive schools in town."

"Yeah, but mom talked to them, and he qualifies for a full scholarship," Navi explained. She turned to Buster, "All you have to do is keep a B average or above, and the work's not much harder than public school, and you don't have to put up with all their crap."

"Um...wow...who's idea was this?" Buster asked.  
"Mine," Navi replied. "Well, and mom's too. We kinda talked it out, like I started out saying I'd never gone to school with a relative like some of my friends, and how since you're technicallymy only cousin, it'd be really cool."

"Wow...okay," Buster replied. He pondered for a moment. "Hey, Elwood, can I go?"

"Um, sure, if you want to go. I don't think anyone around here would object," Elwood replied, still rifling through the papers.

"Okay," Buster said. "Wait, do I have to wear a uniform?"

"Yeah, but you can mod it in all sorts of ways. They allow hats," Navi replied.

Buster grinned. "Mmmm, pushing the dress code. One of my favorite pastimes."

"No kidding. Oh, hey, we can get into driver's ed together too..."

Elwood walked away grinning, leaving the two "cousins" to talk about their plans.

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THE END!

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_A/N: Oh my god, I'm actually done! I hope the ending was good enough for all of you guys! Don't worry, I'm not done writing Navi and everyone on this storyline, but I'm seriously going to take a LOOONG hiatus from them._

_I'd like to take this space to thank each and every reader and reviewer for taking the time to read this fic, and I'd especially like to thank all the readers who stuck with me from day one of this fic and stuck by me all three or so years I've been working on this! I couldn't have done this without your support._

_My special, extra uuber thanks and love goes out to WeirdKat, who's stuck by me and demanded more chapters and encouraged me keep this story going. Thanks Kat! hugs_

_If you have any questions or anything of the sort, please feel free to email me or leave it in a review!_


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